ocelot

ocelot

a feline mammal, Felis pardalis, inhabiting the forests of Central and South America and having a dark-spotted buff-brown coat

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ocelot

[′äs·ə‚lät]

(vertebrate zoology)

Felis pardalis. A small arboreal wild cat, of the family Felidae, characterized by a golden head and back, silvery flanks, and rows of somewhat metallic spots on the body.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Ocelot

 

(Felis, or Leopardus, pardalis), a predatory mammal with a body length reaching 1 m, a tail length of about 30 cm, and a shoulder height reaching 50 cm. The head is elongated and has rounded ears. There are two black stripes on the forehead and on each cheek. The yellow or gray fur is marked with long black stripes, broken rings over the body, and other rings on the legs. The chest and abdomen are buff-colored.

The ocelot is distributed from the southern United States to Patagonia. It inhabits forests and thickets. The ocelet hunts at dusk and during the night; its prey includes monkeys, rodents, birds, reptiles, and poultry. The animal climbs trees well. Mating occurs in June or October; the kittens, usually twins, are born about four months after mating. The ocelot population has declined substantially, because the animals are hunted for their fur.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.