A new record of ocelot in Parque Ecológico Chipinque, Nuevo León, México

Abstract

The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is one of the six felid species recorded in Mexico, and it is present in diverse habitats. In Mexico it is listed as endangered (NOM-059, SEMARNAT-2010), but, information about its populations is limited, especially in Nuevo Léon. Habitat loss is an important factor which jeopardizes ocelot survival and conservation efforts in private protected areas are important for preserving this species. Parque Ecológico Chipinque (PECh) is a private natural area in the Sierra Madre Oriental (Subprovince Gran Sierra Plegada), and is part of a large scale Parque Nacional Cumbres de Monterrey, a Natural Protected Area, in Nuevo León, México. In 2010, as part of “Biodiversity Monitoring”, PECh implemented a “Mammal Monitoring Program” establishing 11 monitoring stations with cam traps located in pine-oak forest, oak-pine forest, oak forest and piedmont scrub throughout the park and separated each other 0.9 to 2 km. The main goal of this program is to register mammal species previously listed for PECh and species with potential distribution range in the area. Parque Ecológico Chipinque is located in the potential distribution range of the ocelot, and mammal monitoring program implemented in PECh has been successful: two events from ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) were obtained with cam traps in September 2014 in a pine-oak (1,274 m) and oak-pine (1,390 m) forest. These new records are very important in confirming the continuing presence of ocelot in its potential distribution range in the Sierra Madre Oriental. The presence of ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) in Parque Ecológico Chipinque suggests the probability that the park serves as a biological corridor for the species, and also suggests the health of the forest conserved in this area. Parque Ecológico Chipinque as a private protected area is playing an important role in species conservation, despite its tourism use and closeness to the urban zone.