Groundbreaking held for ocelot breeding facility in Kingsville
Multiple organizations and the federal government are behind a new ocelot breeding facility in Kingsville.
Before the construction, scientists saved ocelot genetics to prepare for future breeding.
There are about 100 ocelots left in the United States, and almost all of them live in the Rio Grande Valley.
The ocelot breeding program was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to work against inbreeding that's happening.
The plan is to release ocelots in a new stretch of land in north of the Valley.
The agency previously signed off on an ocelot reintroduction plan that protects landowners if they accidentally hurt an introduced ocelot.
READ MORE: Feds approve new ocelot reintroduction plan
The facility at Texas A&M Kingsville is a $20 million investment from the federal government and private foundations.
The 30,000 square foot facility will have an outdoor enclosure for newborn ocelots.
“Once those kittens get to four to six months of age, they're going to start to eat solid food, we will move them into a larger enclosure as natural habitat,” David Hewitt with the Cesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute said. “And we'll use that to help train them be real ocelots — not zoo ocelots but ocelots in the wild so they know where to get out of the sun and where to stay cool and where to stay warm when it is cold in the winter. And how to hunt, how to catch rabbits and mice and things like that.”
U.S. zoos, such as the Gladys Porter Zoo and the Texas State Aquarium, will continue breeding attempts.
RELATED STORY: Gladys Porter Zoo rebuilding ocelot population through artificial insemination
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also working with Mexico to get Mexican ocelots.
“To establish a population, you need enough ocelots out there that they can find one another and socially interact and breed and do all those kinds of things,” Hewitt said.
The population, currently at about 100, will need to double to reach the goal of removing it from the endangered species list.
Watch the video above for the full story.
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