Video: Endangered species of wildcat found in Arizona for the first time in 50 years

A rare ocelot has been captured on camera in southern Arizona. It was the first sighting of the endangered species in the area in 50 years.

The elusive wildcat, which is typically about twice the size of a house cat, resembles a small jaguar or leopard with its orange fur covered in black stripes and spots.

The ocelot was recorded during a field research project conducted by the Phoenix Zoo in the Atascosa Highlands. Researchers announced the discovery on a post to X .

According to a statement from the zoo, project manager Kinley Ragan and volunteer Ali Lofti hiked through the Atascosa Highlands in extreme heat to check 23 of the 50 cameras set up across the region, ensuring the cameras were functioning properly, changing batteries and swapping out SD cards.

While reviewing the SD cards, they made the thrilling discovery of the ocelot.

“The ocelot video was one of the last videos I reviewed and sent full chills through my body at the excitement and pride in what we had recorded,” Ragan said in the statement. “I was in disbelief at first, watching the video over and over again, but soon a big smile spread across my face as the full impact of this discovery for the important region set in.”

Listed as endangered in 1972, ocelots are rarely spotted in Arizona.

According to Smithsonian Magazine , fewer than 100 remain in the United States. Habitat loss stemming in large part from human activity has drastically reduced their numbers.

This marks only the seventh confirmed sighting of an ocelot in the state in the past 20 years, per the Arizona Republic .

Tracy McCarthey, a regional nongame specialist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, conducted a pelage spot analysis and confirmed that this ocelot had not been previously observed.

“We’re excited to see if this was a one-off and what this means for the area,” Ragan told the Arizona Republic. “Are there more? Now that we are formally surveying it, what else can we uncover in this beautiful landscape?”