The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis, or Felis pardalis) is a wild cat distributed over South and Central America. Its northernmost occurrence is Texas. It is up to 100 cm (about 3.2 feet) in length, plus 45 cm (about 1.5 foot) tail length.
Ocelots hunt at night, mostly on the ground, sometimes in the trees. Its prey includes monkeys, snakes, rodents and birds.
The ocelot's fur resembles that of a leopard; it was once regarded as particularly valuable. Several hundreds of thousands of ocelots were killed for their fur; therefore this cat is now an endangered species in many countries.
