Ocelot
Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), also called Jaguarete'i, is a medium-sized mammal of the order Carnivora, family Felidae and subfamily Felinae. It is a nocturnal, terrestrial carnivore whose main foods include acouchi, capybara, common agouti, green iguana, nine-banded armadillo, sloth and southern tamandua.
Quick facts about the ocelot
Adults weigh 11.9 kg, with reported values from 10.5 to 16 kg, and lifespan values reach up to 28.2 years. The ocelot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 10.5 kg – 16 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Height
- 40 cm – 50 cmsrc for Height
- Lifespan
- 24.8 years – 28.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- acouchi, blue-and-yellow macaw, brachyura, capybara, common agouti, green iguana and 13 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 70 days – 84 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1 – 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 19.7 months – 21.8 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Live birthsrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the ocelot?
Photos of the ocelot
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Where does the ocelot live?
Not recorded
What is the ocelot?
The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches 40–50 cm (16–20 in) at the shoulders and weighs between 7 and 15.5 kg (15 and 34 lb) on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. Carl Linnaeus scientifically described it in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized.
The ocelot is efficient at climbing, leaping and swimming. It prefers areas close to water sources with dense vegetation cover and high prey availability. It preys on small terrestrial mammals, such as armadilloes, opossums, and lagomorphs. It is typically active during twilight and at night and tends to be solitary and territorial. Both sexes become sexually mature at around two years of age and can breed throughout the year; peak mating season varies geographically. After a gestation period of two to three months, the female gives birth to a litter of one to three kittens. They stay with their mother for up to two years, after which they leave to establish their own home ranges.
The ocelot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by habitat destruction, hunting, and traffic accidents. While its range is very large, various populations are decreasing in many parts of its range. The association of the ocelot with humans dates back to the Aztec and Incan civilizations; it has occasionally been kept as a pet.
From the Wikipedia article “Ocelot” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ocelot&oldid=1382901988), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the ocelot endangered?
The ocelot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the ocelot classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyFelidae
- genusLeopardus
- SpeciesLeopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Felis onca pardalis, Felis pardalis
Other names and names in other languages (35)
- Jaguarete'iEnglish
- أصلوتArabic
- نمر القزمArabic
- ocelot velkýCzech
- OzelotGerman
- ΟσελότοςGreek
- OcelotoEsperanto
- Ek-suchSpanish
- cunaguaroSpanish
- gato onzaSpanish
- gato tigreSpanish
- manigordoSpanish
- OceloteSpanish
- pumilioSpanish
- tigrilloSpanish
- OtselotEstonian
- OzeloteBasque
- oselottiFinnish
- אוצלוטHebrew
- ՕցելոտArmenian
- OcelottoItalian
- GattopardoItalian
- Lupo cervieroItalian
- OcellottoItalian
- オセロットJapanese
- Käokurüjbt
- 오셀롯Korean
- OcelotasLithuanian
- ocelot wielkiPolish
- JaguatiricaPortuguese
- Gato-Maracajá-GrandePortuguese
- แมวโอเซลอตThai
- oseloTurkish
- ОцелотUkrainian
- 美洲豹貓Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the ocelot
Other species in the same genus Leopardus.
Oncilla
Leopardus tigrinus
Margay
Leopardus wiedii
Kodkod
Leopardus guigna
Geoffroy's cat
Leopardus geoffroyi
Tilcayo
Leopardus tilcayo
Pampas cat
Leopardus colocola
CompareOcelot vs OncillaOcelot vs MargayOcelot vs KodkodOcelot vs Geoffroy's cat
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is an ocelot?
The ocelot is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the family Felidae. It belongs to the genus Leopardus.
How heavy is an ocelot?
An adult ocelot weighs 11.9 kg, with reported values from 10.5 to 16 kg.
What does an ocelot eat?
The ocelot is a carnivore. Its main foods include acouchi, capybara, common agouti, green iguana, nine-banded armadillo, rattus, saimiri, sloth, southern tamandua and toco toucan.
Is the ocelot endangered?
No. The ocelot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does an ocelot live?
The ocelot has a lifespan of 24.77 years, with values reported up to 28.2 years.
How many young does an ocelot have?
An ocelot has 1 to 2 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 80 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocelot
“Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocelot.
@misc{ocelot_2026,
title = {Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocelot},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}