PROGRAM TOPIC:

Our July general meeting features Sharon Wilcox, PhD (Senior Texas Representative, Defenders of Wildlife).

We are on the verge of a 6th Mass Extinction, with species being lost at up to 1,000 times faster than normal because of human activities.“ - Defenders of Wildlife.

The traditionally high biological diversity of the Southwest Borderlands region is threatened by the usual forces of urbanization, agriculture, oil and gas drilling, and water diversion. Now it must also contend with climate change and the border wall. Iconic predators of the Borderlands, such as the Mexican gray wolf, jaguar and ocelot, are barely hanging on.

A medium-sized wildcat, ocelots have a distinct “chain rosette” spotted coat, a long ringed tail, and slightly rounded ears. Once ranging throughout the Southwest, today the only breeding population of ocelots in the U.S. is in Texas, where fewer than 60 ocelots remain in two small populations near the Mexican border. Occasionally, dispersing male ocelots from Mexico also migrate into southern Arizona.

The biggest threat to the ocelot’s survival is the loss of habitat caused by the expansion of agricultural lands, urbanization, and roads. Ensuring their future requires that habitat lands with suitable vegetation are enlarged and improved, and that unintentional threats from nearby communities, like the use of rodenticide and the dangers of vehicular traffic, are addressed.

Come and learn about this iconic Texas cat, and current efforts in ocelot conservation. Hear how better ways are being found to engage the energy industry, landowners and federal and state agencies for greater cooperation in species protection throughout the region, to ensure a future for wild west Texas.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKER:

Dr. Shari Wilcox serves as Senior Texas Representative for the non-profit organization Defenders of Wildlife, where her work focuses on conservation and recovery of imperiled and endangered wildlife in Texas, including the ocelot. She also serves as a member of Defenders' Southwest jaguar conservation team.

Before joining Defenders in Texas, Shari served as the Associate Director for the Center for Culture, History, and Environment in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In recent years, she has also worked for the Texas office of Ocean Conservancy, and she has served as a Lecturer in Geography at the University of Texas - Austin and the University of Texas - San Antonio.

Shari earned her Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Texas at Austin. She is the co-editor of the book “Historical Animal Geographies”, and has authored a number of scholarly articles and book chapters examining contemporary and historical interactions of humans and wild cats in the U.S. - Mexico borderlands. She is currently finishing her book, “Jaguars of Empire” under contract with the University of North Carolina Press.