Global News - July 2007

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One death 'puts US ocelot population at risk'

Tue 17 July 2007 12:20 UK — North America

There are fears that the US population of the rare ocelot could further decline after a male of breeding age was found dead in a national park.

Reuters reports that the remains of a male Texas ocelot were found in the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday (July 15th).

With a US population of just 100, the death of a single male is a significant blow to the species' chance of survival.

Jody Mays, a US Fish & Wildlife Service biologist, told the news agency: "You really hate to lose any of them when there are so few of them.

"Habitat loss and fragmentation are the biggest threats to the ocelots."

As the US population lives in fragmented and isolated pockets, the death of a single male means that a group of females could not be able to breed.

In fact, Ms Mays estimates that the death has reduced the available breeding males in the US by three per cent at a stroke.

In the country, ocelots used to range into Louisiana and Arkansas but now only survive in a small corner of Texas.

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