Research overview: ocelots, roads and development at the edge of south Texas

The remnant ocelot population of south Texas, numbering only a few dozen animals, persists in dense thornscrub fragments amid expanding agriculture, ranchettes and highways. This overview synthesises telemetry and mortality research showing that vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death, that thornscrub loss isolates subpopulations, and that genetic diversity is critically low. It covers mitigation including wildlife crossings and fencing along key highways, brush restoration to reconnect patches, and debate over genetic rescue from Mexican populations. The synthesis frames the U.S. ocelot as an endangered small felid whose survival hinges on managing the road and habitat pressures of a developing borderland landscape.