Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) subspecies in United States Zoos

UngulateNerd92

UngulateNerd92

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I was just reading through the North American Regional Studbook for Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and was amazed to see the number of subspecies that have been kept in the United States over the years! The specific subspecies I found mention of in the studbook are listed here below;

Leopardus pardalis mearnsi (not considered valid any longer by a number of authorities however...)

Leopardus pardalis pardalis

Leopardus pardalis mitis

Leopardus pardalis albescens

Leopardus pardalis aequatorialis

Leopardus pardalis steinbachi

Leopardus pardalis pseudopardalis

And

Leopardus pardalis pusaeus

I have not found mention of ssp. sonoriensis, ssp. melanurus, or ssp. nelsoni

The reason I am posting this is because I thought many of you on here (especially cat people like Arizona Docent) would find this interesting, I certainly did! I am curious if anybody has seen or photographed any subspecies other than ssp. mitis in US zoos in the past, and if so when was this? which zoo was this at? and what morphological features did you notice on those animal(s) that looking back seemed different from ssp. mitis? for those of you that do not know, the Brazilian ocelot (Leopardus pardalis mitis) is what the AZA Felid TAG is currently focusing on as far as captive exhibition and breeding go, and is thus the only subspecies currently in the states, with the exception of generic (non-subspecific) animals though... If there is any information from the studbook that you would be interested in me sharing with you personally, please let me know. With regards to specific collections that said subspecies were held at, I would be happy to share that as well. If you would like to use this thread to share references or discuss your opinions regarding Ocelot taxonomy, please feel free to do that on here as well.
 
glad to find this thread, the only ocelot I've seen where I knew what ssp it was was the mitis (Brazilian) at DWA. Does the studbook mention the ssp of the ocelots currently in various TX zoos (Abilene, Dallas, El Paso, Ft Worth, Houston, Moody Gardens, San Antonio, Tyler, Victoria, Waco) zoos? I had just assumed they were local Texan ocelots. Also, the ones at Oklahoma City, Virginia Zoo, and North Carolina state, I would be curious to know ssp

surely the actual Texan spp is being held SOMEWHERE?
 
AbileneBoy said:
glad to find this thread, the only ocelot I've seen where I knew what ssp it was was the mitis (Brazilian) at DWA. Does the studbook mention the ssp of the ocelots currently in various TX zoos (Abilene, Dallas, El Paso, Ft Worth, Houston, Moody Gardens, San Antonio, Tyler, Victoria, Waco) zoos? I had just assumed they were local Texan ocelots. Also, the ones at Oklahoma City, Virginia Zoo, and North Carolina state, I would be curious to know ssp

surely the actual Texan spp is being held SOMEWHERE?
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Hi AbileneBoy, thank you for your interest in this thread. I don't know the answer off the top of my head, but I'd imagine that the studbook would give information regarding the ssp. at those zoos, but I guarantee you that they aren't the Texan ssp. I can go back to the studbook and find your answers. Not to veer too far off topic, but the best place in Texas to see wild Ocelot and of course your chances are still very slim, would be Laguna Atacosa National Wildlife Refuge which is located in Cameron County. From photographs I have seen in the book "Texans on the Brink" by Brian Chapman and William Lutterschmidt of Texas ocelot, they seem to have a certain greyish tinge to their pelage.
 
As far as I know the only Ocelots currently in US zoos are mitis, though there may well be a small wildlife rescue center with a native Texan ssp. that we don't know about.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
As far as I know the only Ocelots currently in US zoos are mitis, though there may well be a small wildlife rescue center with a native Texan ssp. that we don't know about.
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There are two populations of ocelots in US zoos: the original population of generic ocelots from varying backgrounds and subspecies, and the newer population of mitis that came from recent Brazilian imports.
 
@Coelacanth18 is correct. When I moved to Tucson in the mid 1990's, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum had a sign that I believe listed Felis pardalis sonoriensis. (It stayed that way for years after because they never bothered to change the sign). Since their exhibit in Small Cat Canyon was built in the 1970's, it is likely that it did originally hold the Sonoran subspecies. But it has been years since that was the case and they now hold L.p. mitis (though I believe the signage does not list a subspecies name).
 
Arizona Docent said:
@Coelacanth18 is correct. When I moved to Tucson in the mid 1990's, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum had a sign that I believe listed Felis pardalis sonoriensis. (It stayed that way for years after because they never bothered to change the sign). Since their exhibit in Small Cat Canyon was built in the 1970's, it is likely that it did originally hold the Sonoran subspecies. But it has been years since that was the case and they now hold L.p. mitis (though I believe the signage does not list a subspecies name).
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So if they did in fact have ssp. sonoriensis where were these original animals sourced from?
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Which part of the state was this in?
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It is in the mountains of the far south, near the Mexican border (same area the occasional male jaguar is seen). However I once went to a presentation by some experts and they said a roadkill ocelot had been found near Globe, which is quite far north (hills due east of Phoenix). I asked if they had tested it to confirm it was a Sonoran ocelot and not a generic escaped pet, and they said yes the DNA did confirm Sonoran.
UngulateNerd92 said:
So if they did in fact have ssp. sonoriensis where were these original animals sourced from?
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I imagine wild caught from nearby Mexico, though this is just a hunch.
 
I think in modern classiciation the Texan and Sonoran and other northern ones are all lumped into the nominate subspecies, and only mitis (South America) is left out.

I think the original ocelots at Abilene Zoo (it has been years) were rescued from smugglers, so might have been nominate (?); but the current ones may be mitis. Next time I go to the zoo i'll try to find a keeper who knows their origin. Although Ft Worth displays an ocelot in the TX section, the ssp is not listed and they may be "cheating" (like zoos that stick Amur leopards in Africa theme). Next time I visit San Antonio or Dallas (preferably after weather cools) I will try to see if I can get some info on sourcing.

As for the Laguna place to see ocelots, i looked it up and that is near Brownsville, and I have never been to the Gladys Porter Zoo either. About a 6hr trip from my home, so when weather cools that might be a fun trip, and I will keep an eye out
 
AbileneBoy said:
I think in modern classiciation the Texan and Sonoran and other northern ones are all lumped into the nominate subspecies, and only mitis (South America) is left out.
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If you're referring to the IUCN classification I follow it very tentatively. I think a lot of their newer designations will likely stick long-term-- particularly when it comes to most New World felids-- but a lot of their taxonomy suggestions I find a bit absurd. They also contradict themselves a few times throughout the whole thing so I await further review.

~Thylo
 
AbileneBoy said:
...As for the Laguna place to see ocelots, i looked it up and that is near Brownsville, and I have never been to the Gladys Porter Zoo either. About a 6hr trip from my home, so when weather cools that might be a fun trip, and I will keep an eye out
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Your chances of actually seeing an ocelot at Laguna Atascosa are astronomical. Of course you can try and it's fun to take a selfie near the visitor center sign with the large ocelot (as I did), but if you are counting on seeing a wild ocelot you will likely be disappointed.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
If you're referring to the IUCN classification I follow it very tentatively. I think a lot of their newer designations will likely stick long-term-- particularly when it comes to most New World felids-- but a lot of their taxonomy suggestions I find a bit absurd. They also contradict themselves a few times throughout the whole thing so I await further review.

~Thylo
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Interesting you bring this up. The same day you posted this (yesterday) I discovered the Facebook page of the Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation, headed by small cat expert Dr Jim Sanderson (an acquaintance of mine). They had a post about African wildcat and they appear to reject the IUCN split of sylvestris and lybica and still use the former lumping of the two.
 
Arizona Docent said:
They had a post about African wildcat and they appear to reject the IUCN split of sylvestris and lybica and still use the former lumping of the two.
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....which in my opinion is one of the most solid splits :P lybica and sylvestris differ more than, for instance, Rusty-spotted Cat and Sunda Leopard Cat.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
....which in my opinion is one of the most solid splits :p lybica and sylvestris differ more than, for instance, Rusty-spotted Cat and Sunda Leopard Cat.
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I'm also highly interested in the subspecific classification within these taxa, particularly the aforementioned Felis. As David and I have discussed in detail privately, there seems to be a great deal of uncertainty pertaining to the Middle Eastern taxa in particular. Coincidentally these animals are of great interest to me due to having seen two-- now invalidated by the IUCN-- Middle Eastern taxa between Jihlava and Omaha respectively.

~Thylo
 
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