Ocelot photos a first in Podocarpus National Park

04/17/2012

April 15, 2012 | The mammals of Ecuador’s Podocarpus National Park are notoriously hard to record or observe in the field, and as a result, it can be very difficult to understand their habitat range. Scientists at the Institute of Ecology of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), placed camera traps provided by Nature and Culture International in the northern and eastern flanks of the park, near NCI’s El Tiro and Numbami reserves to help monitor and identify the wildlife in this protected area. So far the findings are very interesting: about 15 species have been recorded including paramo fox and ocelot. The latter has been registered the first time in the Podocarpus Park.

“We thought there was a possibility it could be in the park, but this is the first time we have actual evidence that the Ocelot is in the protected area,” said biologist Rodrigo Cisneros of UTPL.

The Paramo Fox, camera-trapped at night

Another ocelot view