VIDEO: Rare Ocelot Kittens Caught on Camera

You probably have no idea what an ocelot is.

Well, it is the cutest, most adorable wild feline there is!

Sadly, ocelots are as rare as they are beautiful.

But for the first time in 20 years, wildlife biologists have discovered an ocelot den in Texas, raising hopes for the future of the endangered “little leopard”.

According to Live Science, ocelots are small, American wild cats about twice the size of housecats. Their coats have distinctive markings in a wide variety of patterns. Each ocelot’s pattern is unique, with dark spots on an orange, tan and white coat.

The word “ocelot” comes from the Aztec word “tlalocelot,” which means field tiger, according to the San Diego Zoo. Ocelots are also sometimes called painted leopards — because of their markings — and dwarf leopards — because of their markings and their size.

However, ocelots are only distantly related to true leopards or tigers. Leopards and tigers are members of the Pantherinae (roaring cats) subfamily, and ocelots are in the Felinae (small cats) subfamily.

Ocelots are found in United States, Mexico, Central America and South America in every country except Chile. In the United States, these cats have been found in Arizona and Texas.

They have adapted to many different environments, including thorn scrubs, coastal marshes, mangrove forests, savanna grasslands and tropical and subtropical forests, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

These solidary wild cats are nocturnal, which means they are active during the night and sleep during the day. They sleep in trees and bushes. Each night, they travel 1 to 5 miles (1.6 to 8 kilometers) to hunt, and kill one animal per every 3.1 hours of travel, according to Defenders of Wildlife.

Ocelots are territorial. They typically have ranges of 2.4 to 56 square miles (4 to 90 square km) for males and 0.62 to 46.6 square miles (1 to 75 square km) for females. Male territories often overlap with several females’ territories.

Ocelots are not roaring cats; instead they “chuckle” when excited and may “mutter” to one another, according to the San Diego Zoo. They yowl during courtship.

Ocelots hunt prey on the ground and climb trees to hunt, as well. They are carnivores, so they only eat meat. As carnivores, ocelots have special teeth for eating meat. They are picky eaters; they will remove the fur and feathers from their prey before they eat it. Then their sharp incisors tear meat from the bone and their back teeth cut the meat into smaller pieces like scissors.

Typically, their prey includes frogs, iguanas, rabbits, fish, crabs, rodents, monkeys and birds, according to National Geographic. To prevent waste, ocelots will hide their prey and come back to finish it when they are hungry again.

As a species, ocelots are not endangered, according to the IUCN. They are classified as least concern because they have a wide distribution, from northern Argentina to the southwestern United States, and a population of over 40,000 adults in just Brazil. Their total population ranges from around 800,000 to 1.5 million, according to Defenders of Wildlife.

However, in specific regions, ocelots face threats. Populations in Colombia, Argentina and areas of Brazil outside the Amazon basin are listed as vulnerable.