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Camera Trapping Ocelots in Belize, Central America

Ocelots (Leopardus padalis) are a bobcat-sized feline that weigh approxi-mately 20 pounds and live in a variety of dense habitats, from the southern United States to northern Argentina. They are solitary, nocturnal hunters that establish terri-tories, with males defend-ing larger home ranges than females. Ocelots have unique patterns of dark spots, swirls, and stripes that run down their neck, back, and sides.

Historically, ocelots occurred in relatively large numbers throughout their range, but over the past half century, their popula-tion numbers have declined dramatically.

From the 1950s to the mid-1980s, animal pelts were in high demand for international trade, and ocelots were heavily exploited throughout their range. Since then, ocelots have been

listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and laws have been created in many countries to restrict hunting. Although these laws have

decreased hunting pres-sure, habitat destruction is currently threatening ocelot populations. Many of the dense forests they prefer are being converted to pastures and croplands.

Ocelots are incred-ibly secretive and elusive animals, often living in dense and remote habi-tats, making them notori-ously hard to study. The lack of data on ocelot ecology and population parameters make it diffi-cult to design appropriate plans for conservation. In

the late 1980s and early 1990s, a hand-ful of radio telemetry studies were conducted on ocelots to study their behavior and ecology (Texas: Navarro 1985, Tewes 1986, Laack 1991; Belize: Konecny 1989; Brazil: Crawshaw 1995; Peru: Emmons 1988; Venezuela: Ludlow and Sunquist 1987, Sunquist et al. 1989).

Recently, a new technique called “camera-trapping” was developed to study elusive felids (Karanth 1995, Karanth and Nichols 1998). Remote cameras that measure motion and temperature via a sensor are placed throughout the study site. When an animal passes in front of the camera,

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by Adam DillonVirginia Polytechnic and State University, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences

BELIZE

Belize City

LAS CUEVAS

Belmopan

San Ignacio

Cockscomb Basin

Bladen Nature Reserve

Dangriga

CARIBBEAN SEA

GULF OF MEXICO

MEXICO

GUATEMALA

HONDURAS

CUBA

EL SALVADORNICARAGUA

BELIZE

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Camera Trapping Ocelots in Belize, Central America

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motion and temperature changes detected by the sensor trigger the camera to take a photograph. For animals possessing unique coat patterns such as ocelots, individuals can be identified and a population estimate can be determined. When the cameras are set up in a grid formation, each animal’s movement can be tracked from camera to camera. This move-ment distance is used to determine a buffer strip, which is applied to the entire camera grid resulting in a final trapping area. To estimate the density, the estimated population size is divided by the trapping area. This camera trap-ping technique was originally designed to estimate the density of tigers (Panthera tigris) (Karanth 1995, Karanth and Nichols 1998, Carbone et al. 2001, Karanth et al. 2004) and has since been adapted to jaguars (Panthera onca) (Silver et al. 2004) and ocelots (Trolle and Kery 2003, Di Bitetti et al. Under Review, Haines et al. Under Review, Maffei et al. Under Review, This study).

For this particular study, the camera trapping technique was used to estimate the density of ocelots in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve and National Park (CFRNP) of western Belize. This area, together with the Peten region of northern Guatemala and southern Mexico, makes up the largest contigu-ous tropical broadleaf forest remaining in Central America. Ocelot density was estimated in two dominant habitats of the CFRNP: the broadleaf rainforest and the tropical pine forest. The broad-leaf rainforest is a secondary rainforest subjected to frequent natural distur-

bance in the form of hurricanes, whereas the tropical pine forest, as a result of decimation by the Southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) from 1999 to 2003, is a much more open habitat. This research was based out of the Las Cuevas Research Station (LCRS), which was jointly adminis-tered by the Belize Forest Department and the British Natural History Museum at the time of this study.

Five remote camera grids of vary-ing camera spacing were conducted in the broadleaf rainforest habitat, and two remote camera grids of varying camera spacing were conducted in the pine forest habitat between January 2002 and June 2004. A history of all ocelot captures and recaptures was created for each separate camera grid and run through the program CAPTURE (Otis et al. 1978, White et al. 1982, Rexstad and Burnham 1991) to estimate the population size. Each estimated popu-lation size was divided by its respective trapping area to determine the estimated ocelot density for each camera grid. The estimated ocelot density for the rainforest habitat was 18.91 to 20.75 ocelots per 100 km2, whereas the estimated ocelot density in the pine forest habitat was 2.31 to 3.80 ocelots per 100 km2.

In addition to the remote camera technique, ocelots were trapped in the rainforest habitat and fitted with radio collars in order to estimate their home range size. Ocelots were tracked from August 2003 to August 2004, and a 95% fixed kernel home range was

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Camera Trapping Ocelots in Belize, Central America

determined for each ocelot. The aver-age home range in the rainforest for the two collared male ocelots was 33.01 km2, whereas the average home range in the rainforest for the three collared female ocelots was 21.05 km2.

When comparing the two habi-tats, the broadleaf rainforest showed a much higher estimated ocelot density

than the pine forest. This may indicate that although ocelots have a wide range of habitats, they may require more dense cover than is currently available in the pine forest. Or, perhaps the destruction of the pine forest by the Southern bark beetle has

affected ocelot prey density, resulting in a decrease in ocelot population. When the estimated ocelot density and home ranges from the broadleaf rain-forest habitat of western Belize were compared to those in other areas of its range, the density was smaller and home ranges were larger than most other studies.

This study provided home range

estimates from a relatively intact rain-forest habitat and the first density estimate of ocelots in Central America. These estimates can be compared to estimates in other areas as well as provide baseline information for continued ocelot monitoring in western Belize. Although the start-up costs of camera trapping can be prohibitive, it is an effective tool for studying elusive felids and providing valuable data aiding in conservation of these species.

For more information on this study, contact the author at adillon@vt.edu.

Acknowledgements: This ocelot study was done as part

of the author’s Master’s degree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Advisor: Dr. Marcella Kelly).

Literature cited:Dillon, A. 2005. Ocelot home

range and density in Belize, Central America: Camera-trapping and radio telemetry. M.S. Thesis. Virginia Poly-technic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.

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