The ocelot is a very good climber but it would seem that most of their prey comes from the ground and not in trees. In other words research indicates that they are not “arboreal” (tree dwellers). Big Cat Rescue disagree with this, it seems. They do rest in trees, however, but also on the ground in well covered areas such as the base of a large tree, a depression in the ground or under leaves. One of the pictures in the collage above shows an ocelot curled up like a snake in a depression in the ground.
This cat is also an excellent swimmer (lots of wild cats are). One male crossed the Iguaçu river 5 times when being tracked:
Iguacu River at the falls – Iguaçu National Park
– Photo by dckf_$êr@p
Hunting
Two methods:
- Slow stalk at 0.3 kph, watching and sensing for prey
- faster walk, sit 30 – 60 mins and wait and watch
They employ these techniques for between 12 – 14 hours per day (long working day!). They rest in the middle part of the day (from after dawn to late afternoon). However, a high level of stamina is sometimes demonstrated as when a male kept walking for a straight 31 hours when tracked for 34 hours (Sunquists)
Suitable prey usually weighs less than 1 kg (mean weight of mammalian prey is 1.4 kg) (Red List) and would include:
- opossums (see picture below)
- mice
- rats
- rabbits
- birds
- fish
- snakes
- lizards
- insects
- crabs
- possibly larger prey such as
- agoutis
- anteaters
- armadillos (see the picture bottom right in the collage of an ocelot chasing an armadillo. These animals are well armoured)
Opossum – photo by nattywoohoo
