Ocelots in peril as their habitat comes under extreme pressure
Ocelots faced centuries of persecution as they were relentlessly hunted down for their coats. Now, an even greater threat has risen up.
Rapid human expansion is seeing their habitat torn apart and, unless we act now, we could see these stunning cats start disappearing from the wild.
Please donate now and help save the ocelot’s home. With your support, we can train people who live closest to be rangers, and provide key ocelot habitat with the protection it desperately needs.
£95
Could help purchase a drone, allowing the team to accurately track and monitor the ocelot's home.
Hem Manita / Fauna & Flora
£45
Could buy a pair of boots for a ranger - replacing those worn out from countless miles of patrolling.
£30
Could help provide the local team with a hammock and sleeping bag - allowing them to sleep safely on missions, off the forest floor.
£10
Could provide a ranger team with a week's rations - helping them stay on the move and keep threats at bay.
What is the biggest threat to ocelots?
These poor cats have been hunted down for their highly prized coat since the time of the Aztecs. Due to their relatively small size, 25 ocelots were killed to make just a single jacket.
Decades of hard work has raised awareness of the ocelot’s plight and has thankfully seen this appetite for their fur reduced, but many ocelots are still being stolen from the wild as part of the illegal wildlife trade.
And now a new, much greater danger has become the main driver of ocelot deaths – hectares of precious habitat are being torn down at a horrifying rate due to rapid human expansion and deforestation, putting these small cats in immense danger.
This is forcing ocelots to leave the forest in search of food – usually poultry – where they’ll be shot in retaliation.
Donations are crucial to keeping wardens supplied with essential equipment such as tents and sleeping bags, imperative for spending successive days and nights in the field.
What is Fauna & Flora doing to save ocelots?
Fauna & Flora is helping to preserve and protect key areas of forest that are home to ocelots. We’re working with law enforcement to stand up to illegal logging, and helping clamp down on illegal trade in the region.
But it’s simply not enough – we need more funding to step up our work to combat the horrific rate of habitat loss.
Through your donations, Fauna & Flora needs to get essential supplies into the hands of dedicated rangers so they can expand their patrols and prevent the ocelot’s home from being torn apart.
Wardens must traverse challenging terrain and spend many days and nights camped out in the rainforest. It is essential they are supplied with the equipment they need to do so.
What do wardens need?
Wardens need a sleeping bag, rucksack and raincoat to allow them to withstand the challenging conditions of their work.
In addition, wardens need GPS kits in order to navigate what is often dense, unmarked jungle. This equipment allows them to coordinate their movements and vastly improves the effectiveness of their work.
If we can get this gear into their hands, they can step up their operations to protect ocelot habitat from threats like illegal logging, and help keep ocelots safe.
Ocelot cub © MANFRED-SCHEUCHER.AT / Adobe
Ocelots are wonderful, magical creatures. We need to stop the rapid annihilation of their home or we risk putting their very survival in jeopardy.
Why Fauna & Flora?
Fauna & Flora is the world’s oldest international conservation organisation, helping to save species and habitats for over 120 years. We work alongside dedicated local heroes in countries across the Americas and Caribbean, helping to safeguard the region’s unique animals and habitats.
If we’re going to save ocelots from extinction, the knowledge and partnerships we have built up in the region will be of the utmost importance. But we cannot do it without your support.
Please donate now, and together we could help save ocelots.
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