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Small spotted cats of South America

There are 8 small spotted cats living in South America, all belong to the same lineage – Ocelot, or Leopardus in Latin. Curiously, the South American cats of Leopardus lineage have 36 chromosomes instead of the usual 38, as in all other wild cats.

Ocelot


The largest of South America’s small spotted cats, the ocelot is an exquisitely beautiful creature. Its luxurious coat mirrors that of the jaguar but with spots and stripes instead of rosettes, and its face is much more delicately feline.

While mostly solitary, the ocelots are a little more social than other cats. And they do most of their socializing in the toilet. That’s right, ocelots use communal latrines that serve as a kind of ‘visitor registry’. The droppings in these latrines contain information on who lives in the area and whether they are open to romance.

Ocelots are reasonably common in parts of South America, but still not easy to find. Unless you visit Fazenda San Francisco in Brazil’s Southern Pantanal. The extensive rice paddies at the fazenda support a booming population of rodents that attracts ocelots from the surrounding savanna.

Northern Pantanal is also a good place to look for ocelots, as well as a few more spots on the map at the end of the post.