Not looking good for the Texas Ocelot :-( (Houston, Dallas: neighborhood, living)

[skytop]

Link:Texas Ocelots Need Elbow Room

Would be such a shame if they disappeared

[C24L]

Originally Posted by skytop

Link:Texas Ocelots Need Elbow Room

Would be such a shame if they disappeared

I had no idea that our state of Texas even had ocelots.

[Trainwreck20]

They have been endangered for years (decades), but they are notoriously hard to spot/count.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

They have been endangered for years (decades), but they are notoriously hard to spot/count.

This. They are so incredibly beautiful, aren't they?

[Samurai_Key]

Originally Posted by C24L

I had no idea that our state of Texas even had ocelots.

Ocelots used to range all across Southern/Eastern Texas, with their range extending to Arkansas and Louisiana; their habitat has since been reduced.
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/lower_rio...y/ocelots.html

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by TXNGL

This. They are so incredibly beautiful, aren't they?

Random story:
When I was just a wee kid living south of Houston, there was an older lady that lived with her adult son in our neighborhood. She had a bit of a zoo in the back yard and would let us go visit it occasionally. There was a fish pond and several large cages for various small birds (love birds, parakeets, a few others), but the big attraction was the two ocelots, a male and female. They had large pens (panel wire, maybe 4"?) with a tire swing to play on and a 'cat house' - two story, a window, and air conditioned! One of the cats was relatively tame and the son would go wrestle with it. They would throw a raw chicken on top of the pen and the cats would leap up, hang on the wire while pulling the chicken through, then drop down. Very graceful to watch.

They also had a bobcat ('Bobby') that just hung out in the back yard - no pen at all. She had a brick half-wall around her patio and he was usually on that and would growl at you if you got too close.

We called her 'Mrs D' and I think her last name was Demontbrond or something like that (phonetic spelling, I never saw it in writing).

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Random story:
When I was just a wee kid living south of Houston, there was an older lady that lived with her adult son in our neighborhood. She had a bit of a zoo in the back yard and would let us go visit it occasionally. There was a fish pond and several large cages for various small birds (love birds, parakeets, a few others), but the big attraction was the two ocelots, a male and female. They had large pens (panel wire, maybe 4"?) with a tire swing to play on and a 'cat house' - two story, a window, and air conditioned! One of the cats was relatively tame and the son would go wrestle with it. They would throw a raw chicken on top of the pen and the cats would leap up, hang on the wire while pulling the chicken through, then drop down. Very graceful to watch.

They also had a bobcat ('Bobby') that just hung out in the back yard - no pen at all. She had a brick half-wall around her patio and he was usually on that and would growl at you if you got too close.

We called her 'Mrs D' and I think her last name was Demontbrond or something like that (phonetic spelling, I never saw it in writing).

Oh wow! Where did she get the ocelots from? Our neighbors had two raccoons that they kept in a very large pen on their property bordering our's. Not as exotic, but this was in Dallas proper, we lived beside a creek. There were bobcats, foxes, and coyotes in the area. Ocelots are really gorgeous, rare in Texas but still found in the Rio Grande Valley in small numbers.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by TXNGL

Oh wow! Where did she get the ocelots from? Our neighbors had two raccoons that they kept in a very large pen on their property bordering our's. Not as exotic, but this was in Dallas proper, we lived beside a creek. There were bobcats, foxes, and coyotes in the area. Ocelots are really gorgeous, rare in Texas but still found in the Rio Grande Valley in small numbers.

No idea where they came from...I was 7 or 8 years old at the time, so it never really crossed my mind to wonder . I am sure it would be illegal today (especially the uncontained bobcat!), but likely was not at the time she had them....late 60s into early 70s. Not sure when she (or her son) got them or how long they had them. I moved in 1974 and she still had them then.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

No idea where they came from...I was 7 or 8 years old at the time, so it never really crossed my mind to wonder . I am sure it would be illegal today (especially the uncontained bobcat!), but likely was not at the time she had them....late 60s into early 70s. Not sure when she (or her son) got them or how long they had them. I moved in 1974 and she still had them then.

I can't believe Bobby just hung around the patio. Crazy! Yes, things were very different back then. Really didn't think a thing about the raccoons next door. They were kind of scary to the neighbor kids though, you didn't dare stick a hand through the fencing. Can you imagine any of this happening now? LOL!

[skytop]

Surprise!

New Ocelot den found!

https://medium.com/usfws/ocelot-numb...ace#.ajhimev93