Phoenix Zoo, a non-profit zoo located in Phoenix, Arizona, recently shared footage from one of their trail cameras placed in Coronado National Forest’s Nogales Ranger District that shows a rare sighting of an ocelot.
According to Phoenix Zoo’s official statement, this is the first time an ocelot was spotted in the Atascosa Highlands region in at least 50 years.
The ocelot footage was discovered by Phoenix Zoo’s Field Research Project Manager, Kinley Ragan, who was checking the trail cameras in order to ensure they were working properly. Ragan was going through the recorded material to see if the cameras needed some adjusting when she was met with an unexpected video.
“This particular location required a 40-minute hike to the site as the temperature was reaching 95 degrees,” Ragan shared. “The ocelot video was one of the last videos I reviewed and sent full chills through my body at the excitement and pride in what we had recorded. I was in disbelief at first, watching the video over and over again, but soon a big smile spread across my face as the full impact of this discovery for the important region set in.”
Ocelots have been considered endangered in the United States since 1972. Nowadays, they are mainly found in the states of Texas and Arizona, although sightings in Arizona have been rare over the years. The most recent ocelot sighting occurred in 2023 in the Huachuca mountain range, 50 miles away from Atascosa Highlands.
