Wild Cat Species of Texas

At 2011, Texas Parks & Wildlife say there are four wild cat species in Texas, USA:

  1. Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
  2. Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yaguarondi)
  3. Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)
  4. Mountain Lion (Puma concolor)

There will be some disputes on this topic. The respected IUCN Red List (The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List) don’t include either the ocelot or the jaguarundi. The most northerly point of the distribution of these wild cat species is Mexico according to them

The presence of the ocelot in Texas is argued about. My research did not come up with a clear answer. A visitor says there are ocelots in Texas and provided some evidence.

The other species, the puma and the bobcat are well-known to occupy Texas. However, the puma is not found in all of Texas according to the last map from the IUCN Red List. However, these maps are not 100% precise.

The bobcat is widely distributed throughout the United States. Hope this helps. Here are photos of all four:

Bobcat High Fives with Domestic Cat
Bobcat High Fives with Domestic Cat. Wild meets domestic
Jaguarundi kitten in a home
Jaguarundi kitten in a home. They are extremely noisy!
Dali with Ocelot
Dali with Ocelot – no known restrictions for use of this picture.
Mountain lion Griffith Park Los Angeles
Cougar under threat

There are full details about these species of wild cat on this website. Please use the search facility in the RH column.

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