Ocelot - 'Keo'

This is KEO, we also call her HOPE. She is a 4 year old ocelot. She weighs about 25 pounds. Hope was donated to us from the Czech Republic to be part of our research on animal behavior and for our Ocelot breeding program.

The fur of the Ocelot, with its dark brown irregular shaped spots and stripes, edged with black on a yellow/tawny background, give this medium-size cat a most distinctive appearance. No two patterns are alike. The underlying coloration varies with its habitat, with the base color fur being a rich yellow cream in more arid areas to a darker yellow/brown in forested habitats. The slender body of the ocelot can measure up to 3 ½ feet and weighs in at twice that of a large domestic cat.

The ocelot's hunting technique is varied and is carried out mostly at night. Its prey includes small deer, rabbits, rodents, reptiles and if available, fish. The ocelot swims well and will hunt for birds and also sleep in the branches of trees in its forest habitat. Ocelots and Margays are the only two cats that can run down a tree. Ocelots inhabit tropical rainforests, mountain forests, and all types of thick bush, as well as marshy areas and riverbanks.

Today approximately 4,000 ocelots are found in parts of Mexico, Central America and South America as far as Argentina; this animal has almost disappeared from its range in the southern states of North America - it is reported that as few as 181 ocelots survive in Texas today.