Extinct in the area during the 20th century, it returned to Iberá in December 2023, when Rewilding Argentina released the first pair at Portal Uguay. Its coat is unmistakable: a buff or grayish-yellow background covered with elongated rosettes in the form of black bands with brown centers, arranged horizontally along the body. Its huge eyes are adapted to total darkness and its broad, padded paws let it walk in complete silence through the woodland. Total length: 100 to 140 cm (body 70-90 cm, ringed tail 30-50 cm). Weight: 8 to 15 kg, with males considerably more robust. In Argentina it is classified as Vulnerable due to the loss of native forest outside the reserves.
Behaviour
A solitary, nocturnal and crepuscular predator. An exceptional climber: it uses tree branches to rest by day, but hunts mainly on the woodland floor. A strictly carnivorous diet: cavies, armadillos, young capybaras, opossums, ground-dwelling birds and tegu lizards. It marks out enormous territories with claw marks on trunks and communal latrines.
How and when to see it
Year round. Sightings are extraordinary events. The best chances come on night safaris in portals with dense stretches of closed woodland. The reintroduced nucleus lives at Portal Uguay, where the first pair has already had a cub; before that, the last record in the park was a male photographed in 2015.
Where to see it in the Iberá
The gateways of the Great Iberá Park where ocelot has confirmed presence:
Tours to see it
Verified providers operating at the gateways where ocelot lives. You contact them directly on WhatsApp from the app.
- Esteros Ñe’é
Experiences with local storytelling and a cultural take on the marshes.★ 5.0 - Navegando Ituzaingó
Private sailboat rides on the Paraná with captain Mario: sunrise, morning and sunset…★ 5.0 - Reserva Estero Camba Trapo
Private nature reserve of Ecoposada del Estero, on the Camba Trapo road. One of the…★ 5.0 - Excursiones Yetapá (Eduardo Alegre)
Excursions in the Iberá based in San Miguel, run by licensed guide Eduardo (Gualo)…★ 5.0
Species profile
- Common nameOcelot
- Scientific nameLeopardus pardalis
- GroupMammal
- StatusReintroduced
- ConservationVulnerable in Argentina (national conservation status: SAREM, 2025).
Conservation: national status published by the SIB (Argentine National Parks).
Other species of the Iberá
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