A park host in Texas started 2026 off strong with a viewing of one of Texas' most elusive creatures on a trail camera. Amy Canough, a park host at Laguna Atascosa, captured an image of a male ocelot on Jan. 9, according to My San Antonio.
Canough shared the news on social media, which was later turned into a post by Amanda De Leon, who is not identified as a team member or a park fan.
"BIG NEWS…Seeing one of these rare, secretive ocelots on camera is truly special and such a beautiful reminder of the INCREDIBLE and WILD WONDERS right here in our backyard," she wrote on Facebook.
The image from the trail camera appears to show the ocelot stopping to drink water at a birding feeding station.
Ocelots were once more prevalent in the South, found all over Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Today, they are only found in South Texas. The Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is one of the largest protected areas of natural habitat remaining in the Rio Grande Valley and is currently home to one of the two remaining breeding populations of ocelots.
Ocelots inhabit the Tamaulipan thornscrub forest, according to The Nature Conservancy. They den in the cover of hollow trees, caves, and dense thickets, and prey on small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Unfortunately, fewer than 100 ocelots remain in the U.S., as their numbers have declined due to habitat destruction for farmland, urban growth, and hunting.
The ocelot population is a management priority for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as this species has been federally endangered in the U.S. since 1972.
With the partnership of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, the USFWS, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, they have preserved more than 200,000 acres of land, are growing new native plants to ensure ocelot habitat, and have installed trail cameras to monitor movement and growth.
As trail cameras start to capture more images of ocelots, it is likely they will use them to raise more funding to continue growing the local population, ultimately driving progress for this endangered species.
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