Wild Cats In South Texas

Only about 50 individuals have been identified in the state.

Wild cats in south texas. As the locals of Delhi Texas reported in the mid-1980s several jaguarundis were relocated to Bastrop and Caldwell counties from a large game ranch in south Texas. Among Texas brags is listed a first in the variety of kinds of wild cats that roam her spacious acres. The wild cats of Texas represent the most mysterious and beautiful elements of our native fauna.

Current estimates are that fewer than 50 of these wild cats are left in the US with all of them residing in South Texas. These wild cats are known as the ocelot the jaguarundi the margay and the jaguar though it is now probably extinct in Texas. One of the rarest and most striking wild cats in the United States is getting a helping hand in South Texas.

There are several kinds of wild cats that call Texas home. Bobcat Lynx rufus Jaguarundi Herpailurus yaguarondi Ocelot Leopardus pardalis Mountain Lion Puma concolor There will. According to the Texas Parks Wildlife Department breeding populations of wild mountain lions are found only in the Big Bend Trans-Pecos region and deep south Texas in close proximity to the Rio Grande.

Wild cats are solitary territorial animals. Here at Laguna Atascosa National Park in Cameron County there are three varieties of wild cats. The jaguarundi shares characteristics with the ocelot.

Ocelot kittens are born blind after about a month their eyes finally open and they start to develop different colors on their fur. They rarely if ever venture into the Texas Hill Country. The Feline Research Program at Texas AM University-Kingsville is dedicated to conducting research on wild cats to gain understanding of their ecology behavior and conservation genetics and apply knowledge gained to the recovery of wild populations.

They have no place to go because the native vegetation has been cleared making it hard for them to establish new territories find the shelter they need to rest feed and raise their young. Posted on February 7 2015 by Michael Broad. The conservation status where known of every wild cat species has been.