No one even knew ocelots lived there. Today, most ocelots are confined to Cameron and Willacy counties. A few live in Hidalgo County. A male ocelot defends a territory of 300-500 acres, a female about half that. There is no overlapping among members of the same sex, but a male s territory may overlap with two or more females.
Adequate habitat is at a premium, though.
Only a portion of the refuge s 45,000 acres is suitable for ocelots. And, according to Laack, the refuge is at capacity, a serious problem for young cats trying to find their own room to roam. Competition can even be so fierce that an adult male can kill a younger male who was trying to take over his territory and we ve actually documented that in the past. It is a very competitive world for the cats. Often young ones will hang out at the edge of the refuge in another cat s territory and just wait for an opening, and when the resident cat dies, they will immediately take his territory over.