Interesting Creature… The Ocelot

Oct 30, 2022 Interesting Creatures in Guyana, News

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – This week’s interesting creature is the Ocelot, an endangered species of wild cat that loves water and can even choose to neglect its natural habitat to become our close friends.

Cuddling baby Leo (6-month-old ocelot), at Devil Hole, Cuyuni River, Region Seven

Filling up his tummy with some cube cuts of raw fish

The Ocelot is a carnivorous mammal with the scientific name, Leopardus Pardalis. It can grow up to 35 inches in length and can weigh as many as 35 pounds.

Twice the size of the average house cat, the Ocelot is a sleek animal with a gorgeous, dappled coat. These largely nocturnal cats use keen sight and hearing to hunt rabbits, rodents, iguanas, fish, and frogs. They can also climb trees and stalk monkeys or birds. Unlike many cats, they do not avoid water and can swim well.

Like other cats, Ocelots have adapted towards eating meat. They have pointed fangs used to deliver a killing bite, and sharp back teeth that can tear food like scissors. Ocelots do not have teeth appropriate for chewing, so they tear their food to pieces and swallow it whole and their raspy tongues can clean a bone of every last tasty morsel.

Many ocelots live under the leafy canopies of South American rain forests, but they also inhabit brush-lands and can be found as far north as Texas, USA. These cats can adapt to human habitats and are sometimes found in the vicinity of villages or other settlements.

Ocelots are considered endangered because their fine fur has made them a target of countless hunters, and in many areas they are quite rare. Female ocelots have litters of two or three darkly colored kittens.

Spotting an Ocelot in the wild is rare and many can only get a glimpse of one in local zoos. At the Guyana Botanical Gardens and Zoological Park there are quite a few housed there, but they are not friendly and if you get too close to their cages, the ocelot can rip off a piece of your finger with its razor sharp teeth.

However, I was lucky enough to have a personal encounter with two Ocelots during trips I made to the hinterland Regions of Guyana and the Gran Sabana in Venezuela. I was surprised to learn that this wild mini-beasts- two times the size of large housecat- can be so gentle and friendly.

The first one I met is called Leo and he was about 6 months old when I saw him while ‘liming’ at a shop on Devil Hole, a small Island in the Cuyuni River, Region Seven. At first, I was timid to approach, but his owner assured me that Leo is not as fierce as he looks. Leo jumped into my arms and allowed me to cuddle him, while he licked and gently chewed on my hands in a friendly manner.

Lee taking a bath

Lee trying to hide himself in some grass

His owner explained that he had found Leo as a cub in the Region Seven jungle. It appeared as though he had lost his mom and he decided to take the cub home. Leo became his friend and faithful companion. The young Ocelot still hunts and loves raw meat, but he has adapted to living among humans and won’t even harm their livestock.

A few weeks later I was introduced to another friendly ocelot living in Gran Sabana, Venezuela. He is called Baguira and is a full-grown adult Ocelot. His owner, Lee, feeds him fresh fish from the many small rivers and creeks that run through the Gran Sabanas (Grand Savannahs) of Venezuela.

Baguira spends most of his days playing with his owner, Lee, and the other pets he owns but appeared to be jealous for his owner’s attention and would cuddle with him in the hammock or even be his swimming and bathing partner.

Rearing these animals as pets in the cities might be illegal because they are protected in many countries, but for a wild cat that is known for being a fierce hunter, ocelots shrug off that personality just to be our friends.

Source of some of the information used in this article https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/ocelot