Endangered Ocelot Found Dead on Texas Highway

Federal authorities say one of the last remaining U.S. ocelots has been struck and killed on a South Texas highway.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday the male cat was found dead last week on a highway between Laguna Vista and Los Fresnos.

The federally protected endangered species was once found from South Texas to Arkansas and Louisiana. The agency says there are less than 50 left, mainly because of loss of habitat.

The agency says the ocelot was found next to a concrete highway barrier and was likely killed by a vehicle. A manager of a nearby wildlife refuge says at least four ocelots have been killed in the area since the barrier was constructed four years ago.

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