Rare video footage of an elusive ocelot captured in Arizona's Sky Island mountain range has been released, providing a glimpse of a species seldom seen in the region, according to the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD).
The footage, taken on July 24, 2024, by a trail camera in an undisclosed location, appears to show the wild cat as it leaps down to grab a drink from a pool of water in the dead of night.
"I shouted with joy when I realized what I was seeing on the trail cam. This incredible footage shows us that ocelots belong in our Sky Islands, despite all the threats they face," Russ McSpadden, a Southwest conservation advocate at the CBD, said in a statement.
"These elegant, elusive and fiercely resilient felines are an important part of what makes southern Arizona so special. Capturing footage of this cat in the wild gives me hope for their survival."
Ocelots, protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1982, are renowned for their striking, rosette-like spots, which help them blend into their environment. With fewer than 100 believed to remain in the U.S., most in southern Texas, Arizona's population is critical for the species' survival.
The Sky Islands, a series of isolated mountain ranges connecting northern Mexico to southern Arizona, offer a unique, biologically rich ecosystem essential for the ocelot's habitat.
This particular ocelot, previously recorded on June 12, traveled over 30 miles, crossing the Santa Cruz River and the I-19 into the Sky Island region. Experts, including Carmina Gutiérrez González from the Northern Jaguar Project, confirmed it was the same cat.
For the Tohono O'odham Nation, whose ancestral lands encompass the Sky Islands, the ocelot sighting is more than a scientific milestone. "Seeing the return of an ocelot to these ancestral lands reaffirms our sacred connection to this place and reminds us of our duty to protect these lands and the creatures that depend on them," Chairman Austin Nunez of the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation said in the statement.
"The ocelot's survival is intertwined with ours, and we must ensure that this species endures for future generations."
The survival of ocelots is threatened by habitat fragmentation due to roads, urban development, and construction projects such as the freight railway in Sonora, Mexico. This railway cuts through crucial ocelot breeding grounds, further imperiling the species.
"Every ocelot and jaguar sighting is a chance to celebrate these incredible creatures and reflect on how we can help their safe return to the Southwestern U.S.," McSpadden said. "I hope this beautiful ocelot reminds us all of the critical work ahead to make sure these cats' habitat remains unfragmented and protected for future generations."
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