The Ocelot is distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean. Countries in this range are: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Nicaragua, Suriname, United States and Venezuela. It's likely extinct in Uruguay

The Ocelot is mostly nocturnal and very territorial. It will fight fiercely, sometimes to the death, in territorial disputes. In addition, the cat marks its territory with especially pungent liquid. Like most felines, it is solitary, usually meeting only to mate. However, during the day it rests in trees or other dense foliage, and will occasionally share its spot with another Ocelot of the same Gender. Males occupy territories of 3.5 to 46 square kilometers (1.4 to 18 sq mi), while females occupy smaller, non-overlapping territories of 0.8 to 15 square kilometers (0.31 to 5.8 sq mi). The Ocelot is mostly nocturnal and very territorial. It will fight fiercely, sometimes to the death, in territorial disputes. In addition, the cat marks its territory with especially pungent liquid. Like most felines, it is solitary, usually meeting only to mate. However, during the day it rests in trees or other dense foliage, and will occasionally share its spot with another Ocelot of the same Gender. Males occupy territories of 3.5 to 46 square kilometers (1.4 to 18 sq mi), while females occupy smaller, non-overlapping territories of 0.8 to 15 square kilometers (0.31 to 5.8 sq mi).

Like many wild cats, it is occasionally kept as a pet. Salvador Dali frequently travelled with his pet Ocelot Babou, even bringing it aboard the luxury ocean liner, SS France. Musician Gram Parsons kept an Ocelot as a pet in the back yard swimming pool area of his family's Winter Haven, Florida home during his teens, in the mid-1960s. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshiped animals and often depicted the Ocelot in their art.

Key Facts  Body Length(mm)  Weight (kg) average  Litter Size - 2 average  Life Span years  Status - Least Concern  L.p.aequatorialis - Northern Andes  L.p.albescens - Texas, Mexico  L.p.maripensis - Venezuela to Guiana  L.p.mitis - S.Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina  L.p.pseudopardalis - Columbia, Venezuela  L.p.pusaeus - Ecuador  L.p.sonoriensis - Arizona, Mexico  L.p.steinbachi - Bolivia

 The ocelot mates year-round. About 70 days after mating the female gives birth to one to three young. The female makes a den in the brush. She leaves the kittens at night to hunt for food, but she spends the day with them. The kittens begin hunting with their mother when they are about three months old. The kittens may stay with the mother for up to a year. Female ocelots have litters of two or three darkly colored kittens. In northern locations females den in the autumn, while in tropical climes the breeding season may not be fixed.

The ocelot eats mice, rabbits, rats, birds, snakes, lizards, fish and frogs. The ocelot is solitary, but sometimes hunts with another ocelot. It calls to its hunting partner with meows that sound like a house cat's call. The ocelot hunts most of its prey on the ground, but sometimes catches birds in trees.

The ocelot has gray to golden brown fur. It has brown spots and patches bordered in black on its sides. It looks a lot like the margay, but its spots come in many patterns like rosettes, slashes, speckles and bars. It has two to three stripes on its cheeks and four to five horizontal stripes on its neck and chest. It has a long tail and big eyes.

Scientific Name: Felis pardalis Family Name: FelidaeLocation: S. U.S. to Central and South America. In tropical rain forest, grassland, and swamp. Size: 20-39in. ( cm) Weight: 25-35lb. ( kg) Social Unit: Solitary Gestation: days Birth: 1-3 Diet: birds, small mammals, fish, reptiles, large mammals Scientific Name: Felis pardalis Family Name: FelidaeLocation: S. U.S. to Central and South America. In tropical rain forest, grassland, and swamp. Size: 20-39in. ( cm) Weight: 25-35lb. ( kg) Social Unit: Solitary Gestation: days Birth: 1-3 Diet: birds, small mammals, fish, reptiles, large mammals