Kris Bertram, age 12, of Milwaukee, Wis., for his question:
WHAT IS AN OCELOT?
Lions and tigers, lynxes and leopards are meat eating hunters, well known for their catty tempers. But let's face it, with their golden coats, bold stripes and flowery spots, surely the members of the cat tribe are among the most handsome animals in the world. And people who know them well rate the ocelot as the most handsome cat of them all.
The ocelot may be almost twice as big as an ordinary house cat and it's nice to know that he is a native American wild cat. He does not mix with the bobcats and lynxes of our Northern woods, and most of us never see him except in a zoo. His favorite haunts are tropical jungles. He is at home as far south as Paraguay, and once in a while he prowls just north of the Mexican border.
At first sight, you might mistake him for a teen age leopard. However, though the spotted leopard is a beauty, he cannot compete for looks with the ocelot. For one thing, the leopard's spots are more or less standard. But no two ocelots wear exactly the same patterns.
The ocelot's fur is short, thick and silky. Its background color ranges from pearly to pastel gray, from tawny yellow to pale candy brown. It is deeper on his back and paler on his tummy, throat and chin. However, the background color is almost completely covered with darker patterns of dots and spots, stripes and rings, blotches and splotches.
His home is the forest floor, where he prowls on soft padded paws in search of agouti and other small game. He also is an expert climber and sometimes hunts birds among the boughs. All this is usual catty conduct. But unlike most of the other cats, the ocelot enjoys the water and often takes a dip in his favorite stream.
Usually he hunts with his mate and the pair carry on a mewing conversation, no doubt to keep in touch as they prowl through the dense underbrush. In August or September, the female builds a soft grassy nest among rocks or in a hollow tree and bears two furry kittens.
Ocelots are hard to spot in the dense woods but they are still hunted for their handsome coats. Some people capture the young ones and tame them. An ocelot may become a friendly and playful pet, fond of chasing a ball and retrieving it like a dog. However, unless his human family is extra kind and understanding, he may develop a catty temper as he grows older.