Festival aims to spread awareness of ocelot conservation

HARLINGEN — Although it’s rare to catch a glimpse of an ocelot in the wild, plenty of people were able to see one in full view Saturday at the 9th annual Ocelot Conservation Festival.

As the ocelot, named Sihil, was brought out during the live ocelot program, the crowd gasped in wonder when they saw it.

During the festival attendees also had an up-close look at other animals, including an African serval — another small feline species — a bald eagle, the world’s smallest deer species and sea turtles.

The event was held at the Marine Military Academy and helped the Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge raise money for research and education and to restore habitat for ocelots in the Rio Grande Valley.

Attendees said they were educated and entertained by the indoor and outdoor activities and presentations.

Linda Castañeda and Alicia Sampson, cat ambassador trainers from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, held the ocelot on a leash as they demonstrated his climbing abilities.

After explaining the habitat, diet and behaviors to the crowd, Linda Laack, a wildlife biologist for Environmental Defense, began to explain why the number of ocelots in the wild has been decreasing.

“This South Texas population (of ocelots) is most at risk of dying out,” Laack said.

In addition to habitat depletion and getting hit by cars, Laack said that using ocelots for clothing is a historical reason for the animal’s population decrease.

Castañeda pulled out an ocelot fur coat after Samson put Sihil back in his kennel, and Laack asked the audience how many ocelots they thought it took to make the garment.

After a few guesses of three, four and 10, Laack said the correct answer was 40 ocelots.

“This became popular after Jacqueline Kennedy was photographed in the 60s in an ocelot coat,” Laack said. “Then there was a big craze in the 60s and 70s for ocelot fur coats.”

Sampson brought out the serval, named Jambo, at the beginning of the program.

“Many people know about lions and tigers, but few know there are a whole variety of other small and medium sized cats out there that are very interesting,” Castañeda said.

For 7-year-old Braulio Lozano of Progreso, the ocelot show was his favorite part of the day.

Braulio was with four other pupils from the Progreso Independent School District. Marisa Aguilar and Michael Vasquez said they had the most fun riding in the rowboats inside a large pool of water, while Victoria Rodriquez enjoyed seeing the owls and snakes and Jose Rios liked shooting the bow and arrow at the archery competition.

Even though they each had their own favorite part of the day, they all said they had fun at the festival.

Many of the people at the festival were with young children, including the Sanchez family from Los Fresnos.

“We try to bring the kids to educational programs because it’s something they can enjoy and learn from at the same time,” Monica Sanchez said.

It was the first time Monica Sanchez, who was with her sister, Linda Sanchez, and Linda’s two children, attended the festival.

“I was curious about the festival,” Linda Sanchez said. “I didn’t know what it was going to be like.”

Outside, students used paints and colors while they participated in educational crafts and activities.

People stood in a large circle to watch the Last Chance Forever Raptor Show.

A few spectators ducked as a falcon swooped over the crowd during the demonstration.

There were informational displays and a live auction of donated artwork was held inside one of the MMA buildings.