No, ocelots can’t be black based on current knowledge. I have looked high and low for pictures and information about melanistic or black ocelots and I have found nothing. I have the best book on wild cats and the description of this cat does not include any information about melanistic ocelots. Melanism is a genetic mutation turning coats dark, charcoal black.
The reason why this cat was hunted so prolifically is because it has such a wonderful coat, “the most wonderful tangle of stripes, bars, chains, spots, dots and smudges… which look as though they were put on as the animal ran by.” [Description by Ernest T Seaton in 1929]
There is nothing more to say except that if anybody else who reads this has heard of melanistic or black ocelots, please leave a comment and if possible a photograph and I will put the information into the main body of the article with a credit.
I just heard of the ocelot sighting near Nogales. Around 1983 I saw a solid shiny black cat 20 feet in front of my truck. It stopped in the road for about 7 seconds. It had green eyeshine and looked like a female. She was about 32 inches from chest to butt and 17 inches to the top of her back. All these years I assumed she was a young Jaguar. Now I’m convinced she was an ocelot. She looked exactly like the ocelot pictures. This was on Harshaw Road about 3 miles South of Patagonia.
Thanks Mike. A great sighting recorded on this page with an excellent record of the location.
Back in 1969 my grandmother had a blind cat he said was an ocelot. He had it chained in his back yard and I was told to stay away unless the owner was with me. It was the size of a medium sized golden retriever and had huge claws.
It was my grandmother’s neighbor who owned the cat and cared for her.
Thanks Kerry for sharing. Shame that the cat was chained up as that is inhumane treatment of an animal especially a wild animal. But thanks anyway.
Ive seen one black oscelot near marana az
Thanks for the sighting 👍.
yes i think one is in my area were i live it looks like a bigger than house cat n its black 7404494668
Thanks William.