connected. This means that there is not sufficient room in most of the prime habitat for the species to spread out.The busy highways and roadways of the Rio Grande delta are the ocelot’s greatest predator. As the ocelot moves about in the remaining habitat, it must cross highways and the success rate has not been good. Since 1994, 10% of ocelot deaths have been due to being hit by vehicles while trying to cross these highways and the state wants to build more.Many people, now aware of the ocelot and their dwindling numbers are beginning to take action. The Texas Department of Transportation has tried to build culverts under the highways for the ocelot to use, but the culverts, being below road grade, filled with rainwater and the cats would not use them. What they need to do is build 3-5 foot box type runways at ground level. This solution would require a lot of money to repeatedly raise the roadway at every location they feel they need to put a runway. The federal government has approved a plan to acquire enough land to double the size of the Altascasa Refuge, the last stronghold of the ocelot. The government has done this by purchasing easements on 108,000 acres of farm/range land. They will restore this land to it’s natural state. Some large ranch owners are also making efforts to preserve habitat for the ocelot. They have set aside hundreds of acres of their properties to natural vegetation. One of the best hopes for the ocelot habitat is a booming eco-tourism in South Texas. Bird watching in this area now brings in more than 100 million dollars annually for the region. Bird and Breakfasts are springing up all over the area.The fate of the ocelot is one familiar story. Man comes in and uncaringly destroys all the native land in order to prosper. I don’t believe this is truly the case though. As the article stated, no one knew much of the ocelot, scientifically, before 1990. By that time, the l...
