Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) distribution in the state of Puebla, Central Mexico

THERYA, Agosto, 2010 Vol.1(2):111-120 DOI: 10.12933/therya-10-12 Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) distribution in the state of Puebla, Central Mexico Osvaldo Eric Ramírez-Bravo1,2,*, Emilio Bravo-Carrete3 Cristina Hernández-Santín 1, Stephanie Schinkel-Brault1, Kinnear Chris2 Abstract Despite the fact that Puebla is in central Mexico and close to Mexico City, little is known about the felid species that inhabit the state. As part of our studies about the jaguar in Puebla, we are determining the distribution of ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) along the state. We conducted surveys among communities and placed camera traps in the field. We got ten reports of the species along the state, indicating the existence of different populations. One report corresponds to the area known as La Mixteca, which indicates a population shared between the states of Morelos, Puebla, and Guerrero and a possible corridor from Estado de Mexico to Veracruz. Most of the reports came from the Sierra Norte part of the Sierra Madre Oriental, which indicates an important corridor connecting populations in the northeastern states with those in the south. This is important for felid conservation as it was thought that their populations in the northeast were isolated. Key words: Distribution; Mixteca; Ocelot; Puebla; Sierra Madre Oriental, Leopardus pardalis, corredor. Resumen A pesar de que Puebla es un estado que se encuentra cerca de la Ciudad de México, se sabe poco acerca de los felinos que lo habitan. Como parte de nuestra investigación sobre el jaguar en el estado, se determinó la distribución de ocelote (Leopardus pardalis) mediante encuestas y foto-trampeo. Se obtuvieron diez reportes diversos de la especie indicando la existencia de una población. Los registros en el suroeste de Puebla indican la existencia de una población compartida entre los estados de Morelos, Puebla y Guerrero y un posible corredor hacia el estado de Veracruz. La mayoría de los registros provienen de la Sierra Madre Oriental, lo cual hace suponer que existe un corredor a lo largo de la misma que conecta poblaciones de ocelote en los estados del noroeste del país con las del sur. Palabras Clave: Distribución; Mixteca; Ocelote; Puebla; Sierra Madre Oriental, Leopardus pardalis, corredor Departamento de Ciencias Químico-Biológicas, Universidad de las Américas, Puebla, Santa Catarina Mártir, Sin Número, Cholula, Puebla. CP. 72820, México Tel. 01 (222) 2 29 20 67, 2 Durrell Institute for Conservation Ecology, Marlowe Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NR, England 3 Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México FES Cuautitlan, Km 2.5 Carretera Cuautitlán-Teoloyucan, San Sebastián Xhala, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Estado de México, CP. 54714, México * Corresponding author contact: 1 OCELOT DISTRIBUTION IN PUEBLA, MEXICO Introduction The Sierra Madre Oriental serves as an important corridor connecting ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) populations in the state of Hidalgo in Central Mexico with those in Nuevo León in Northern Mexico (Grigione et al 2009). Despite this importance, studies looking into the absence or presence in the area are almost absent or have only recently begun (Grigione et al. 2009). In fact, the existence of ocelot populations was proved recently for the states of Guanajuato (Iglesias et al. 2008), Queretaro (Lopez Gonzalez and Aceves Lara 2007) and San Luis Potosí (A. Villordo-Galván personal communication). Puebla in central Mexico would be a key state in this corridor as the presence of an ocelot population in the state would indicate a continual distribution from north to south. The state is not considered as part of the corridor because it has received little attention in felid studies and it lacks information about their presence. However, the existence of a viable population is highly probable due to the multiple reports in the bordering states of Morelos (López-Wilchis and López Jardines 1998, CONANP 2005); Oaxaca (Goldman 1943, Lira et al. 2005); Guerrero (Goldman 1943), and Veracruz (SCT 2005). The ocelot (L. pardalis) was mentioned for Puebla by Wilchis and Jardines (1999) but in a carnivore revision made by Ramirez Pulido et al. (2005), they failed to find individuals for the state and they just mentioned the possibility of its existence. Villareal et al. (2005) mention an individual of ocelot in the municipality of Hueytamalco in the Sierra Norte. Later on Ramirez-Bravo et al. (2010) confirmed the existence of the species by camera trapping in the same municipality and mentioned the existence of other two individuals along the Sierra Norte corresponding to the Sierra Madre Oriental. However, there is not enough information on them, or on the distribution of the species along the state. In this work we would like to present the first effort to delimit the distribution of this species along the state using records obtained by surveys and camera trapping. The L. pardalis records presented here were obtained while working on the project “The Jaguar in Puebla: Presence and Human relations”, which indicate that L. pardalis has a wider range than that which was previously thought. Methods We e-mailed different institutions (government offices, non-governmental organizations [NGOs], and researchers) asking about felid species existing along the state. At the local level we contacted local governments of some municipalities, protected areas, NGOs, ranchers associations, veterinarians, hunters, and surveyed people in communities with their informed consent. We elaborated non-structured interviews to at least three persons in the community during the months of June and July of 2009. Interviews consisted on an informal talk about environmental aspects, migration, hunting, and cultural aspects. We used illustrations of large and medium (greater than three kilograms) sized mammals; like ocelot (L. pardalis); margay (L. weidii), and jaguarondi (Puma yaguaroundi) that could be present in the region; we also included pictures of a lion, tiger, and a bear to verify authenticity of the response. Field corroboration was done using camera traps (Wildview Xtreme 4) in the Sierra Norte, La Mixteca, and Tehuacán. We had initially five cameras and later another four; we worked with one or two cameras per site, changing them every month to cover as much area as possible. Site selection was made based on to local guides or organizations in the area. The cameras were set at a height of 40 -50 cm along roads, trails, besides 112 THERYA Vol.1(2): 111-120 Osvaldo Eric Ramírez-Bravo, Emilio Bravo-Carrete, Cristina Hernández-Santín, Stephanie Schinkel-Brault, Kinnear Chris water holes, and other places where recent animal signs were found (Silver 2004). Results We confirmed the lack of information about the existence of the species in the state. We obtained answers from 27 of the organizations interviewed: nine government agencies at different levels (federal, state, and mu (...truncated)