Ocelot spotted in southern Arizona region for first time in 50 years

PHOENIX - An ocelot has been spotted on camera in a southern Arizona region for the first time in 50 years.

Researchers with the Phoenix Zoo and Arizona Center for Nature Conservation released video on Aug. 12, showing the ocelot in the Atascosa Highlands region in western Santa Cruz County. The region includes the Atascosa, Tumacacori and Pajarito mountains.

The zoo says this is confirmed to be a new cat not previously seen in the state.

"This cat was observed in desert scrub and at lower elevation than most historical records of ocelots in Arizona," the zoo said in a news release. "One other ocelot has been recorded consistently in the last year on camera footage from the Huachuca mountain range, greater than 50 miles away from this new sighting."

Ocelots have been listed as endangered in the United States since 1972 and are only intermittently recorded in Arizona.

"Finding evidence of a new ocelot in southern Arizona reinforces our commitment to collaborative efforts to conserve wildlife and their habitats in the region," ACNC/Phoenix Zoo President and CEO Bert Castro said. "We’re eager to review additional camera data from this study to see what else we can learn about species of conservation concern in the borderlands and what they need for their continued survival."