Open-access Diet of the ocelot, Leopardus pardalis (Carnivora: Felidae), in the Neotropical region: a review analysis and new data from central Brazil

ABSTRACT

This study reports new data on the diet of the ocelot, Leopardus pardalis, in the Brazilian Cerrado, and reviews the literature data on the diet of the species in the Neotropical region, based on 22 studies. One hundred and twenty-one vertebrate species, in addition to arthropods and plants, are consumed. The highest diversity of prey items, mainly small mammals, was revealed by scat analysis, the most common method used. Analysis of road killed specimens also revealed new dietary records. The wide prey selection, influenced by availability and habitat, enables the ocelot to thrive despite environmental disturbances. This dietary flexibility underscores the importance of diverse sampling methods to fully understand ocelot feeding behavior and habitat needs.

KEYWORDS:
Feeding behavior; rodents; scat; small prey; stomach

Felids are top predators and play an important role in regulating vertebrate prey populations within ecosystems (Eisenberg 1989). The ocelot, Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758), is one of the 15 felid species that occur in the Neotropics (Nagy-Reis et al. 2020, Nascimento et al. 2021). The ocelot, a medium-sized spotted cat, weighing from 7 to 16 kg (Emmons and Feer 1997), is widely distributed throughout the Neotropics, from southern Texas, USA, to northern Argentina (Paviolo et al. 2015). Due to its wide distribution and ecological importance, the ocelot is one of the most studied felids in the Neotropical region.

The ocelot’s diet includes prey with wide variation in size, from small animals (< 100 g), such as mice, to relatively large prey (> 25 kg), such as the Pampas deer (Abreu et al. 2008, Bianchi et al. 2010, 2013). However, studies on the diet of the ocelot are primarily based on scat analysis (Emmons 1987, Tirelli et al. 2019), with limited information derived from the examination of stomach content. Additionally, most studies have been conducted in tropical and subtropi cal regions (Bisbal 1986, Bianchi et al. 2013, Tirelli et al. 2019). In this study, we review the literature on ocelot diet and present new information on the composition of the diet of L. pardalis in the Cerrado of central Brazil, based on digestive tract analysis.

We searched for publications on ocelot diet using the keywords “ocelot” OR “Leopardus” AND “diet” OR “feeding behavior” OR “prey” in major scientific databases: SciELO, Scopus, and Web of Science, with no predefined timeline. Additionally, we examined the digestive tracts of two road-killed ocelots collected on highways in central Brazil. They were collected under the permit of Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio 82643-1) and were deposited in the Coleção de Mamíferos of the Universidade Estadual de Goiás (CMUEG). Specimens collected included one adult female (CMUEG 272) collected on highway GO-206, in the municipality of Quirinópolis (-18,507778°, -50,807222°, WGS 84 datum); and one adult male (CMUEG 271) collected on highway GO-341, in the municipality of Mineiros (-17,918028°, -53,004639°, WGS 84 datum), both in southern Goiás state.

Based on the scientific literature and data from the road-killed specimens collected, we list the items in the ocelot’s diet, including records of prey species across different biomes in the neotropics. The taxonomic nomenclature followed Abreu et al. (2024) and Mammal Diversity Database (2024) for mammals, Frost (2024) for amphibians, and Uetz et al. (2024) for reptile species. Additionally, we present the number of prey species (hereafter ‘prey richness’) according to sample type (behavior, scat, and stomach), prey groups (plant, crab, insect, fish, amphibian, bird, reptile, and mammal), and mammalian orders. We constructed a bipartite graph where rectangles represent the number of articles reporting each prey group associated with each sample type, with the width proportional to the number of interactions. The graphs were created through the ‘bipartite’ package (Dormann et al. 2009) in the R environment (R Core Team 2022).

Our review identified 22 research articles documenting 121 vertebrate species in the diet of ocelot throughout the Neotropical region. Most species consumed (103 out of 121) were mammals, followed by birds and reptiles (eight species each), and amphibians (two species). Additionally, two studies reported the ingestion of decapod arthropods, five studies noted insect ingestion (orders Coleoptera and Orthoptera), and eight studies included plant items (Appendix 1). Most studies were conducted in tropical and subtropical forests (82%, n = 18). Ocelots were recorded consuming between 1 and 38 different species, per study (Fig. 1). In the digestive tract of the road-killed male from central Brazil, we identified parts of naked-tailed armadillos Cabassous sp.; giant ameiva, Ameiva ameiva (Linnaeus, 1758); and the snake Apostolepis sp. In the digestive track of a female ocelot we examined parts of a white-eared opossum, Didelphis albiventris Lund, 1840. Ameiva ameiva is common in the diet of ocelots (Bianchi and Mendes 2007, Bianchi et al. 2010). In contrast, Apostolepis sp. and Cabassous sp. had not been previously reported as part of the ocelot’s diet.

Figure 1
Distribution of studies on the diet and feeding habits of the ocelot, Leopardus pardalis, in the Neotropical region. The size of the circles represents the number of species in the ocelot’s diet. The numbers correspond to the references in Appendix 1 and Supplementary Table S1.

Fecal analysis (scat) was the most common method for studying ocelot diet and yielded the greatest number of identified species (min = 10, max = 38, median = 18.5 species per study), followed by stomach content analysis (min = 1, max = 18, median = 2.5 species per study; Fig. 2A). Mammals were the most taxonomically diverse group in the diet of ocelots (Fig. 2B), with studies reporting up to 24 species (min = 1, max = 24, median = 7 species per study). An association between prey groups and sample types indicated that scat samples were linked with all prey groups, whereas behavioral observations were specifically associated with the ingestion of plants and mammals (Fig. 2C). Rodents were the most common order in the diet of the ocelot, with 50 species, followed by Didelphimorphia, with 16 species (Fig. 2D).

Figure 2
Number of species in the diet of ocelots, Leopardus pardalis, in the Neotropical region: (A) Median and quantiles of prey richness by sample type; (B) prey richness across different prey groups; (C) interaction between prey groups and sample types; and (D) prey richness across mammalian orders. Silhouette according PhyloPic - free silhouette images of organisms, version 2.0 (https://www.phylopic.org/).

The diversity of dietary items across the Neotropical region underscores the dietary plasticity and opportunistic hunting behavior of the ocelot (Bisbal 1986, Emmons 1987, Silva-Pereira et al. 2011, Macas-Pogo et al. 2023). This adaptability and the abundance of prey species allow ocelots to persist across various habitats despite anthropogenic disturbances within their range. Mammals represent the primary prey group, accounting for over 96% of the samples, followed by reptiles and birds (Abreu et al. 2008, Meza et al. 2002, Wang 2002, Bianchi et al. 2013). Arthropods and plants have also been documented in the ocelot’s diet (Bisbal 1986, Emmons 1987, Farrel et al. 2000, Meza et al. 2002, Moreno et al. 2006, Bianchi and Mendes 2007, Bianchi et al. 2010), consistent with their opportunistic feeding habits. Moreover, three feline species, including the ocelot, have been observed consuming wild rice (Oryza latifolia Desv.), which may provide both fiber and pharmacological benefits. This grass species shows promise for enrichment programs in captivity, as wild felids may utilize it as a form of self-medication (Montalvo et al. 2020).

Most studies on the ocelot diet have relied on fecal analysis, making scat the primary method for assessing dietary composition and feeding frequency in carnivores (Klare et al. 2011). Millions of animals, however, are lost to roadkill annually (Grilo et al. 2018), and these may be a valuable source of specimens in educational and scientific collections (Alvarez and Loretto 2021). As demonstrated here, stomach contents of roadkill can provide additional insights into dietary patterns. Direct observations (beha vior-based studies) typically reveal occasional predation events, but can also provide rare records, such as an ocelot preying on a Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth Choloepus didactylus (Delibes et al. 2011) or instances of ingesting plant items like wild rice. Conversely, predators can sometimes become prey, as demonstrated by a jaguar, Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758), killing an ocelot (Perera-Romero et al. 2021). Moreover, these observations offer valuable insights into predation timing and feeding behavior.

Small rodents and marsupials are the most diverse group of mammalian prey, reflecting both their availability and the ocelot’s opportunistic strategy (Bisbal 1986, Emmons 1987, Meza et al. 2002, Bianchi et al. 2013). In southeastern Brazil, ocelots frequently prey on black capuchin monkeys, Sapajus nigritus (Goldfuss, 1809), likely because it is abundant locally (Santos et al. 2014). Other medium and large-sized mammals, including agoutis, armadillos, deer, primates, and sloths, have also been documented in the diet of this animal (Moreno et al. 2006, Abreu et al. 2008, Tirelli et al. 2019). Additionally, ocelots tend to target smaller prey when larger felids, such as pumas (Tirelli et al. 2019) and jaguars (Moreno et al. 2006), which occur in sympatry, thus reflecting niche partitioning among those species.

In conclusion, the breadth and variability of the ocelot’s diet highlight its plasticity to a wide range of prey species and environmental conditions, even in areas with human disturbance. This dietary flexibility, coupled with opportunistic foraging, places the ocelot as a resilient species across the Neotropics. However, future studies integrating road-killed specimens and behavior-based observations could further enrich our understanding of the nuances in ocelot dietary ecology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Colleagues of the Laboratory of Ecology and Biogeography of Mammals for the field sampling. Isa Lucia de Moraes and Pedro Rogério Giongo collect the road-killed individuals in central Brazil. Graduate Program in Environment and Society through the Pró-Programas funding, UEG 2023. Wellington Hannibal received research grant support from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 302443/2022-3). Two anonymous reviewers improved the final version of this text.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • Funding
    Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (302443/2022-3) Wellington Hannibal received research grant support from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 302443/2022-3)
  • Data Availability
    Datasets related to this article will be available upon request to the corresponding author.
  • ZooBank register
  • How to cite this article
    Hannibal W, Oliveira JSP, Figueiredo VV, Cabral Filho RG, Sampaio LO, Oliveira KG, Claro HWP (2025) Diet of the ocelot, Leopardus pardalis (Carnivora: Felidae), in the Neotropical region: a review analysis and new data from central Brazil. Zoologia 42: e24072. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-4689.v42.e24072
  • Published by
    Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia at Scientific Electronic Library Online - https://www.scielo.br/zool

Supplementary material 1

Supplementary Table S1. Overview of ocelot diet studies: geographic variation, prey categories, and sampling methods.

Authors: José S.P. de Oliveira, Wellington Hannibal.

Data type: Database.

Copyright notice: This dataset is made available under the Open Database License (http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1.0/). The Open Database License (ODbL) is a license agreement intended to allow users to freely share, modify, and use this Dataset while maintaining this same freedom for others, provided that the original source and author(s) are credited.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-4689.v42.e24072

APPENDIX

Appendix 1
Prey composition in the diet of the ocelot, Leopardus pardalis, in the Neotropical region. References represent articles reporting ocelot diet or feeding behavior.

Edited by

  • Editorial responsibility
    Guilherme S.T. Garbino

Data availability

Datasets related to this article will be available upon request to the corresponding author.

Data citations

Abreu EF, Casali D, Costa-Araújo R, Garbino GST, Libardi GS, Loretto D, Loss AC, et al. (2024) Lista de Mamíferos do Brasil (2024-1). Zenodo, Data set. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14536925

Frost DR (2024) Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.2 (12/10/2024). Electronic Database, https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/index.php American Museum of Natural History, New York. https://doi.org/10.5531/db.vz.0001

Mammal Diversity Database (2024) Mammal Diversity Database. Zenodo, data set, v. 1.13. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12738010

Uetz P, Freed P, Aguilar R, Reyes F, Kudera J, Hošek J (2024) The Reptile Database. http://www.reptile-database.org [Accessed: 12/10/2024

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    30 June 2025
  • Date of issue
    2025

History

  • Received
    13 Nov 2024
  • Accepted
    17 Feb 2025
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