Spotted on Trail Cam: Rare, Elusive Animal Is a First in 50 Years

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There’s a new ocelot in southern Arizona, and trail cameras maintained by the Phoenix Zoo captured video of the rare and elusive wildcat this summer. Phoenix Zoo shared the news yesterday. The zoo confirms that it’s the first confirmed ocelot sighting in the Atascosa Highlands region in at least 50 years.

In a press release, Phoenix Zoo said its field research project manager, Kinley Ragan, and a volunteer, Ali Lofti, were visiting 23 field cameras in July to ensure they were working properly. “It is standard procedure to scan through the recorded images quickly to see if the cameras need to be adjusted for a better view, etc.” the release says. “In this case, the quick scan resulted in a big jolt of excitement.”

Ragan described the moment she realized one of the zoo’s trail cameras had captured an elusive ocelot.

“The ocelot video was one of the last videos I reviewed and sent full chills through my body at the excitement and pride in what we had recorded,” Ragan said. “I was in disbelief at first, watching the video over and over again, but soon a big smile spread across my face as the full impact of this discovery for the important region set in.”

Ocelots in Arizona

Ocelots have been on the endangered-species list in the United States since 1972. They live in the southwestern U.S., as well as Mexico, Central and South America, and Trinidad and Margarita in the Caribbean. The Phoenix Zoo says humans only intermittently see or record ocelots in Arizona.

“Ocelots are carnivores whose primary diet consists of rabbits, rodents, lizards and birds,” the zoo’s press release says. “Major threats to their survival include habitat fragmentation and loss, as the spotted cats depend mainly on dense forest and grassland habitat for shelter and safe movement across the landscape.”

Scientific studies like this one help assess ocelots’ habitat in southern Arizona and beyond.

Watch the first ocelot humans have seen in this southern Arizona region in 50 years here:

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