Laguna Atascosa NWR

One of the last places you'll find the endangered ocelot. We spent 5 days there last week surveying the prey population. Here are a few choice photos from our trip.


Liomys irroratus Mexican spiny pocket mouse


Killdeer and her nest


A little biologist rumor. In all seriousness, following the speed limits here is very important. Road mortalities are one of the main causes of death for endangered ocelots.


Sigmodon hispidus Hispid cotton rat. This guy was barely weaned I would guess. Quite cute.

We were there for the rodents but you see lots of other cool things.

Bobwhite quail, female


Tarantula

Bunny Bonanza

What would you expect to find in massive numbers when visiting Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge? Well, mosquitos, yes. And there are plenty of them out right now. But there are also lots of bunnies! Sylvilagus floridanus The Eastern cottontail rabbit. They sure make evening or morning drives interesting. I think they enjoy watching us swerve. They always seem to wait until the last minute to decide which way to run off.

But it's good that they are so abundant. They are yummy to lots of predators, including ocelots. Lots of bunnies could mean the ocelots are fat and happy.

In previous posts I've talked about rodent trapping on the private ranch where my major research occurs. We've expanded that research to the Refuge. If we can provide scientific documentation to Mexico that there is a plentiful amount of prey here, then that puts us one step closer to translocation.

We are sampling 4 different sites, all of which are 1st priority translocation release sites. Three are in areas currently occupied by ocelots and one is in an area that is not currently occupied but was in the last 10 years. Our first sampling was last night/this morning as we caught the usual suspects: hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) and Mexican spiny pocket mice (Liomys irroratus). We also captured one northern pygmy mouse (Baiomys taylori). These probably aren't high on the ocelots' favorite menu items (would you want to run a mile just for one chicken nugget?), but they'll definitely snack on one when the opportunity presents itself.

We've seen lots of other fun critters, too. Here's a short list:
Texas tortoise
Indigo snake
Texas horned lizard
Mexican ground squirrel
Plain chachalaca
White ibis

And one of the best things of all? Wireless internet! We can play outdoors in the mornings and evenings and then actually get some work done indoors between! Not that I wouldn't mind exploring the trails all day, but annual reports loom overhead!

Check out more information about the Refuge and endangered ocelots, turtles and falcons here: Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge

Here are some fun facts. See if you can find them on the refuge website.

When was the first confirmed report of an ocelots on the refuge?
When did extensive research on ocelots begin on the refuge?
Have there ever been jaguarundi on the refuge?

Answers tomorrow!

The danger of roads

Unfortunately, road mortality is one of the main causes of decline for ocelots in Texas.

Ocelot mortality

It's official

We are done with spring trapping. Temperatures are consistently above 90 degrees now, and it is just too warm for the animals. While trapping can be done safely in warm temps, there is no reason to take a chance on the animal's safety.

So now I can focus on other pressing issues. This weekend will be spring rodent trapping on my study site. Each season we conduct abundance surveys for prey species. This includes various species of mice, rats and squirrels. And the occasional cottontail rabbit. We place Sherman live traps in a transect (fancy word for line) along the conservation easements (the protected thick brush, or ocelot habitat) and check them for 4 consecutive days.

The drought last year really took a toll on the prey community, and trapping in January of this year was pretty meager. After all of our spring rains, and the currently lush conditions of the habitat, I expect trapping this weekend to be very fruitful. This could actually be one of the reasons for our low ocelot trapping success. If there is plenty to eat, what is the draw of a chicken in a trap? Unfortunately, there is no way to prove that.

Here are a few captures from past events.


Baiomys taylori or Northern Pygmy Mouse with a metal ear tag and a mark with a permanent marker. We give each animal an individually identifiable mark so we can calculate abundance. The metal ear tags should last between trapping sessions as well.


Spermophilus mexicanus, Mexican ground squirrel. NOTE: I am not holding this guy properly. Do not try this at home. Animals should be help by the "scruff". But this guy was trying to get away from me and I had a quick picture snapped.


This is me with Sigmodon hispidus, a Hispid Cotton Rat. He has two marks with a permanent marker. These marks will last within the trapping session, i.e. the 4 days of trapping. This is the technique we employed before using the metal ear tags. Cotton rats are one of the major prey items of many small to medium-sized predators in North American, including bobcats, coyotes, and of course, ocelots!

Become of a fan

If you are on Facebook, become a fan of the Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge page, Viva the Ocelot!

Viva the Ocelot!

They have great images of a female and her cub. Check it out and become a fan!

Trappng

Trapping has resumed on the ranch. So far no luck, but I'm feeling optimistic.

Watch this space for more news!

Ocelot news

A roadkill ocelot was found and collective in Arizona. No official records occur for ocelots in Arizona since 1964, though have been anecdotal reports over the years. See the story here:


Arizona Fish and Game - Ocelot