Ocelots should not be left out

Ocelots tend to live and hunt alone, they are secretive and a rare sight. They are our only native cat species and are at the top of the land mammal food chain in Trinidad and Tobago. They occupy large areas while being very territorial in nature. Their unnatural enemies in the forest are hunters and packs of hunting dogs who see them as competition and a threat respectively.

According to records in the early 90s, a survey was taken by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington of our ocelots and results showed several different gene pools. They were surprised at this because in a confined island area like ours more inbreeding was expected. This shows how extremely diverse our country’s wildlife is, even within a single species.

Records in the wildlife office in St Joseph show that ten people, including a veterinarian student residing in Diego Martin, are known to have ocelots as domestic pets. Some are kept in small areas (built for dogs) while they are known to occupy a few square miles in the wild. Wild animals like these ocelots can never be tamed; they will always have a wild spirit and hence present a danger to their owners as well as members of the community.

I implore the Honourable Mr Ganga Singh, Minister of the Environment and Water Resources, to include the ocelot as an illegal pet in his new Conservation of Wild Life Act.

Places such as the Emperor Valley Zoo should be the only ones allowed to have this animal; the zoo carries out an active breeding programme to ensure the continued presence of the species in the wild. It also has a “Zoo to You” programme whereby conservation through education is promoted by taking conditioned animals including an ocelot to schools and public events. In hopes that by educating an average of 300,000 visitors each year on the importance of the ocelot, the animal’s life would be spared and above all, cherished by future generations.

This endangered animal is a jewel in our country’s biodiversity and people should not get the chance to have them as pets in order to satisfy their own fascination.

An ocelot should be kept for educational purposes only and should always be kept in an area which adheres to international standards.

Solang? De Silva

Member of the ZSTT