Advances in Zoology and Botany Vol. 1(2), pp. 46 - 52
DOI: 10.13189/azb.2013.010205
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Reproductive Characteristics of the Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) under Captive Conditions

Dana Havlanová¹, Ivana Gardiánová^2,*
1 Graduate of Special Animal Raising, FAFNR, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Czech Republic; Havlan´s Ocelot Caterry
² Demonstrational and Experimental Workplace, FAFNR, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Czech Republic

ABSTRACT

The ocelot Leopardus pardalis is one of the beautifully colored cats of family Felidae. Their successful reproduction undercaptive conditions are not very high. We studied the reproductive characteristics of ocelots from 1960 to 2010. The aim of study was to investigate the reproductive success of ocelots between continents. The following results were found: all continents: 139 captive females produced 576 litters with a total of 752 kittens of which 545 were successfully raised to adulthood. The number of successfully raised males was 295 compared to 250 females. Eighty-six were of unidentified sex. About 359 individuals were reared by the mother and 108 hand reared. Of the total births, 416 were single kittens, 146 were twins, 12 were triplets and two were quadruplets. Females had their first litter at a mean age of 4.2 years old and had a mean of four litters during her live. The mean number of kittens per female was 5.4 kittens, of which 3.9 were successfully reared. Comparison between continent – in America and Europe were born more than 350 kittens, in Asia 50. Reared were 278 kittens in America, 226 in Europe and 41 in Asia. Only some kittens were hand reared. Globally, the highest number of litters occurred during June and August, while the lowest number occurred during November and December. It was found that before 1990, most successful rearings were kittens raised by the mother but after 1990, the most successful rearings were hand reared kittens.

KEYWORDS
Ocelot, Reproduction, Captive Conditions

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Dana Havlanová , Ivana Gardiánová , "Reproductive Characteristics of the Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) under Captive Conditions," Advances in Zoology and Botany, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 46 - 52, 2013. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2013.010205.

(b). APA Format:
Dana Havlanová , Ivana Gardiánová (2013). Reproductive Characteristics of the Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) under Captive Conditions. Advances in Zoology and Botany, 1(2), 46 - 52. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2013.010205.