Loss of genetic diversity among ocelots in the United States during the 20th century linked to human induced population reductions.

Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in the United States currently exhibit low levels of genetic diversity. One hypothesis for this observation is that habitat fragmentation, resulting from human induced changes in the landscape during the 20(th) century, created island populations with highly reduced gene flow and increased genetic drift and inbreeding. In an effort to investigate this, we used a portion of the mitochondrial control region and 11 autosomal microsatellite loci to examine historical levels of genetic diversity and infer temporal changes in ocelot populations between 1853 and 2005.

Comparative immobilization of wild felids in Thailand.

We immobilized individuals of four free-ranging felid species, leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Asiatic golden cat (Catopuma temminckii), and marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) with ketamine hydrochloride and xylazine hydrochloride (KH-XH) and with tiletamine hydrochloride and zolazepam hydrochloride (TH-ZH) between March 1998 and July 2002. Mean (+/-SD) dose of KH and XH was 26.51+/-5.