Conservation groups found a sign of hope, but scientists say it's too soon to celebrate.
McALLEN — It’s been more than 50 years since the South Texas ocelot — a medium-sized spotted wildcat known for parallel stripes running down its neck — was put on the federal endangered species list.
The decline has led to the dwindling of their contribution to the local ecosystem — typically dense thorny shrub land in the Rio Grande Valley — in which they hunt for rabbits, small rodents, and birds, keeping those populations in check.Dr. Mike Tewes, a biologist with Texas A&M University-Kingsville who has studied ocelots for 42 years, said the DNA analysis did not provide enough evidence to conclude the range of ocelots was expanding in South Texas.
"I'd be very cautious of saying, even suggesting, this population is expanding based on this one roadkill over the past 40 years," Tewes said. The second possibility is the cat represents a population researchers have not yet recognized and that retained some Mexican DNA. "As we share information, we're going to get answers to this and this is where we have to be very careful about what we're putting out to folks out there," De la Garza said."We have to be very careful and give educated answers because we want to make sure that we're doing our due diligence for the species and that we're in no way taking away from that recovery, from that conservation, but adding to it.
Texas Politics Texas Policy Texas Government Environment Texas Parks And Wildlife South Texas Rio Grande Valley
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