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Recent Ocelot Deaths and Wildlife Crossings
After an eleven month hiatus, the ocelot populations in Cameron and Willacy Counties have been severely impacted by a surge of vehicle collisions beginning in June of 2015 and continuing to the present. On June 2, 2015, the US Fish and Wildlife Service was alerted to the presence of a dead female ocelot on Highway 186 in Willacy County. Found on the roadside with visible damage, the veterinarian in charge of the necropsy confirmed that the injuries that led to her death were consistent with a vehicle collision.
"Of course we were devastated, since almost a year had passed with no reports of ocelots hit by cars. Also, it's especially harmful to the population when a female is killed, since it is the female rate of reproduction that helps the population grow," said Dr. Hilary Swarts, a wildlife biologist who monitors ocelots in south Texas with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Unfortunately, that first recent observation began a series of seven ocelot road mortalities, which has run into April of 2016. In 2015, following the female ocelot found dead in June, two male ocelots were found dead by vehicle collision in October and December, one on Highway 186 and the other on FM 2925, just west of Arroyo City.
The new year brought more ocelot road mortality tragedies, with an unknown male found dead on Highway77, about 4 miles north of the border between Willacy and Kenedy Counties in mid-January and a juvenile male, only recently discovered to be part of the Cameron County population, was killed by a vehicle on Buena Vista Road in Cameron County in early February. While March saw no reports of ocelots killed by vehicles, two adult males were found dead in April, one on Highway 100 in Cameron County and the other on Highway 186. All seven of these deaths were confirmed to be the result of vehicle collisions.
Among ocelots, it is not easy to be a maturing male. In order to prevent competition for access to breeding females, older males often force the younger males to leave the area where they grew up, which sends the younger males out on the landscape to find females and territory of their own. Once out of protected, dense brush habitat areas, these younger males encounter the human-developed world and all of its dangers, in particular roads and vehicles. In reaction to the large proportion of road mortalities being males, Swarts said, "I can't say it's surprising that six of the seven deaths were males, since they have such a rough time of it once the older males start to see the younger males as competition for mates and territory."
Because Highway 186 bisects optimal ocelot habitat, it is also not a great surprise to see that three of the seven deaths occurred on Highway 186. Though road signs warning of wildlife were posted in the high risk stretch of Highway 186 in November, 2015, thanks to actions by Willacy County officials and the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), signs alone did not reduce the threat of vehicle collision to ocelots. While discussions of wildlife underpasses on Highway 186 are underway, Willacy County officials urge motorists to keep wildlife in mind when using that popular roadway. "As community leaders, we take very seriously the safety of motorists and the highway mortality rate of ocelots. I encourage everyone traveling on State Highway 186 to slow down and be watchful of wildlife crossing," said Willacy County Judge Aurelio Guerra.
This terrible run of ocelot road mortalities emphasizes the crucial need for wildlife crossings to allow ocelots and other wildlife to pass under roads to avoid vehicles. The installation of under-the-road crossings, with fencing, would keep ocelots off the roadways in the first place, which would help reduce their chances of being hit by cars and provide for driver safety. "The US Fish and Wildlife Service and TXDOT have worked hard to establish ocelot road crossings in areas south of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, but the recent deaths in Willacy County has us broadening our focus to establishing crossings there, especially on Highway 186" said Laguna Atascosa Refuge Manager, Boyd Blihovde.
The good news, in contrast to this string of tragedies, is that construction of wildlife underpasses has already begun on FM106, a road that borders and runs through the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and is currently experiencing a much needed upgrade. Although none of the ocelot roadkills in the last eleven months have been on FM106, ocelots have been killed there in the past and have been documented crossing this road, which goes right through excellent ocelot habitat, dozens of times.
As the road condition improves and motorists travel faster, the need to safeguard ocelots from crossing the road becomes all the more important. The first ocelot crossing was installed on April 27, 2016 and the next one is underway. A series of eight crossings in total is planned for FM106 and Buena Vista roads near the refuge. Once installed, crossings will be monitored to see how wildlife, and ocelots in particular, will respond. "This is new terrain for us, since wildlife crossings have not really been built in ocelot habitat before. It will be very interesting to see what our wildlife crossing monitoring program reveals about when and how ocelots and other wildlife use the newly installed crossings" Swarts said.
Another positive development is that this summer, TXDOT will begin installing a series of four ocelot crossings on State Highway 100, which has been the site of five known ocelot mortalities over the years. While this construction will affect motorists and traffic to South Padre Island, it will ultimately create a situation that is safe for the public and safer for ocelots. Boyd Blihovde said, "In addition to wildlife crossings, the Service is working with our partners and neighboring landowners to establish permanent wildlife corridors for ocelots and other species in the area around Highway 100. These targeted wildlife corridors are made up of suitable habitat that will connect protected areas, and provide a safer travel route to the wildlife crossings that are being constructed."
When the populations are so small, as they are in Cameron and Willacy counties (about 15 and 40 known ocelots respectively), every ocelot is important to the population's survival. Past data have shown that 40% of identified ocelots were killed by vehicles. The new era of installing wildlife crossings on roadways in areas where ocelots live will be one of the most important ongoing actions for ocelot conservation in south Texas.
To learn more about ocelots in south Texas, visit the Refuge's website www.fws.gov/refuge/laguna_atascosa or Facebook page www.facebook.com/LagunaAtascosaNWR.
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New LIVE Wildlife Cam
Thanks to the generous support of the Texas Master Naturalists, Rio Grande Valley Chapter, the refuge now has a live webcam on the wildlife viewing area directly behind the visitor center. Intern Bryan Marquardt, volunteer Jim Najver and Ranger Daniel Rivera, used their technical skills to develop the system which went live May 26. Now you can visit the birds and other small wildlife from your home. Links will be available on the Friends of Laguna Atascosa website (savetexasocelots.org), the refuge's website (fws.gov/refuge/laguna_atascosa) and the Texas Master Naturalists' website (rgvctmn.org).
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SMILE! The Friends of Laguna Atascosa are on AmazonSmile
Select them as your non-profit
organization
and every time you shop Amazon will donate 0.5% of
your
purchase price to The Friends of Laguna Atascosa- at no cost to you!
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Summer Hours
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
22688 Buena Vista Blvd., Los Fresnos, TX 78566
Visitor Center & Friends Nature Store*
Open 8 am - 4 pm
Thurs. - Monday (May - Sept.)
*Nature Store may have more limited days in the summer due to lack of volunteer.
Refuge open daily sunrise - sunset
FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH
Enjoy the refuge trails free of charge all day on the first Sunday of every month. Please check in at the Visitor Center to get a required vehicle pass.
RGV Family Summer Adventure Challenge
Get outside and enjoy the outdoors with the Family Summer Adventure Challenge. Families with children ages 6-12 visit different nature centers, parks and refuges of the Rio Grande Valley to complete fun challenges in nature. From riding a bike, to photographing birds, there are challenges for everyone's interests and abilities. Once you complete the challenges and submit your journal, your family name will be placed in a drawing for the opportunity to win cool prizes. Pick up your copy of the Family Summer Adventure Challenge Journal at the Laguna Atascosa Visitor Center.
- August 27, 4 pm Challenge Deadline.
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~ Refuge may receive RESTORE act funding
~ AmazonSmile
~ Refuge tour schedule and information
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The last remaining ocelots
in the
Unites States are found only in Texas. You can help save these beautiful endangered cats and help spread the word about protecting Texas Ocelots by buying this specialty license plate for your vehicle for only $30.00 additional. The non-profit organization, Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge .org, will receive $22 from the sale of every Save Texas Ocelots license plate, 100% of which will go to Ocelot Conservation. Plates can be purchased at any time and fees will be prorated. We thank YOU for helping keep ocelots thriving as part of our Great Texas Natural Heritage. To learn more go to
www.savetexasocelots.org
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Stay Connected
by following
"Viva the Ocelot!"
on Facebook!
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Adopt an Ocelot
To learn more about the Adopt-an-Ocelot Program
click here!
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Your donations help an oce-LOT!
The ocelot conservation program at Laguna Atascosa relies heavily on funds from generous donors. Here's a glimpse into what your donations could help fund
:
A donation of $250 is enough to fund a radio (VHF) collar.
A donation of $600 is enough to fund a trail camera.
A donation of $2,500 is enough to fund a GPS collar.
To help conserve ocelots by making a donation, visit the
donation page
.
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Bayside Drive Update
The refuge got word this week that more survey work is required before construction can begin. This will delay the project anywhere from a few months to next fiscal year. In the meantime, hikers and bikers will be able to continue using the scenic loop. Visitors may want to call and check the status before coming out 956-748-3607 ext 111.
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Ocelot Run Brings in $5000
The Friends of Laguna Atascosa received a $5000 donation from partner 2RunCrew. These are the proceeds from March's Ocelot 5K Run held in conjunction with the Ocelot Conservation Day at Gladys Porter Zoo. The donation will go toward ocelot conservation projects at the refuge.
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Milkweed for Monarchs
The Friends of Laguna Atascosa received a grant to purchase native milkweed plants through the Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas program. They will be planted in June near the visitor center. Hopefully the monarchs will find them and lay eggs on their journey north next spring.
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