Ocelot in AZ?!

[writelots]

April 16, 2010. Tucson, ARIZ. – Remote cameras captured the image of an ocelot, a rare tropical cat, in Cochise County , Arizona . Sky Island Alliance, a Tucson-based regional conservation organization, recently photographed the cat while participating in the Witness for Wildlife program, which is supported by the Freedom to Roam Coalition and Patagonia , the outdoor clothing company.

Sky Island Alliance sets remote cameras to unobtrusively observe wildlife and assess wildlife corridors in Arizona’s Sky Island region. Last week, volunteer citizen naturalists participating in the Witness for Wildlife program retrieved images from one of the remote cameras in Cochise County. The image of the ocelot was dated November 7, 2009.

Taken by a remote camera, this remarkable photograph is the first verifiable record of this elusive wild feline alive in Arizona. Although a small number of ocelots live in south Texas, ocelots have never before been recorded alive in Arizona. Additionally, this record from Arizona places ocelots over 200 miles north in latitude from where they are found in Texas.

Let's hope he gets better treatment than Macho B...

[chumley]

Do people keep endangered species a pets?

AZGFD gave this one room to escape and didn't touch it or do anything to track it so I don't think we'll find out anything more about it unless it turns up again somewhere. (Perhaps at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve? :STP: )

But the picture is great. I'm not really a fan of domesticated cats, but this little creature looks super cuddly and cute. I'm guessing that Kai wouldn't really appreciate a new sibling though!

[PaleoRob]

What, they didn't try to tag it and then put it down for kidney disease?

[Tough_Boots]

(Perhaps at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve? :STP: )

Were there feathers in the scat they collected? Did it poop in the neighbor's sandbox?

[azbackpackr]

What, they didn't try to tag it and then put it down for kidney disease?

Oh, boy. I bet AZGFD sure hopes that debacle gets forgotten quickly.

[chumley]

A trail camera in the Huachuca Mountains caught a photo of an ocelot on May 26, making it the second confirmed Arizona sighting of the rare wild cat in 2011...

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... z1RQrsOhY7

[PaleoRob]

Sweet!

[writelots]

Awesome!

[chumley]

This seems like the feel-good kind of thing we all need to watch today. Apparently it's been out there for a few years so it may not be a first-view for everyone here.

[RedRoxx44]

To balance the news supposedly Denmark plans to kill 15-17 million farm raised mink ( raised for fur ) due to a coronavirus mutation that can spread to humans.

[chumley]

@RedRoxx44
I saw that report yesterday. Luckily, I subsequently got a great deal on my new coat which will arrive on Sunday in time for the snowfall up north.

[outdoor_lover]

@chumley
Pretty fun. The outtake with the Crab is hilarious.

[LosDosSloFolks]

@chumley
Mink is OK...but once you wear Chinchilla you never go back.

[Alston_Neal]

@LosDosSloFolks
The Utube vid of you and the chinchilla is legendary.

[LosDosSloFolks]

@Alston_Neal
Yep...Captain Sparkles is a real trooper!

[joebartels]

yet another rare sighting
https://www.azfamily.com/2024/08/12/rar ... utType=amp

[big_load]

yet another rare sighting
https://www.azfamily.com/2024/08/12/rar ... utType=amp

Great!

The headline was a little misleading, since even the article mentions another recent ocelot sighting. I need to start poking around, because I'm sure there have been quite a few others in the last ten years, although perhaps not right around there.

[chumley]

@big_load This article clarifies it a bit better: https://ktar.com/story/5592311/phoenix- ... n-arizona/

It was the first confirmed sighting of the endangered species in the Atascosa Highlands area of southeastern Arizona in around 50 years. This mountain range in Santa Cruz County is around 5 miles north of the Arizona-Mexico border.

The other recent sighting was in the Huachucas, about 50 miles away from where this one was seen, and this one was verified to be a different individual from any of the previous sightings.

[big_load]

@big_load This article clarifies it a bit better: https://ktar.com/story/5592311/phoenix- ... n-arizona/

It was the first confirmed sighting of the endangered species in the Atascosa Highlands area of southeastern Arizona in around 50 years. This mountain range in Santa Cruz County is around 5 miles north of the Arizona-Mexico border.

The other recent sighting was in the Huachucas, about 50 miles away from where this one was seen, and this one was verified to be a different individual from any of the previous sightings.

OK, that makes sense.

[chumley]

The same June 14, 2024 Atascosa Highlands ocelot has been spotted again, this time over 30 miles away (and across I-19) on July 24.

https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/ar ... a-20276163