OWG 2025 REPORT

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Feb 3

The Backyard Frontier: Why 2025 Was the Year Conservation Went Local for the World’s Smallest Wild Cats

When we imagine the frontlines of wildlife conservation, our minds often drift to the vast, untouched expanses of the Amazon or the sprawling savannas of the Serengeti. We picture the "charismatic megafauna"—jaguars and lions—patrolling their kingdoms. But in the shadows of the Mesoamerican brush, a quieter, more intimate struggle is unfolding. It is a world of spotted ghosts and copper-colored shadows: the Ocelot, the Margay, and the Jaguarundi.

For decades, these small wild cats have survived on the periphery of our attention. However, the release of the 2025 Activity Report from the Ocelot Working Group (OWG) signals a profound evolution in how we protect them. No longer is conservation a battle fought only in the deep woods; it has moved into the farmyards, schoolrooms, and village squares of the communities that share their home.

This shift in strategy is spearheaded by Mariam Weston Flores, a conservationist whose credentials bridge the gap between rigorous academia and grassroots action. As a Programme Officer for the IUCN SSC Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence Specialist Group and a Cambridge Master of Philosophy in Conservation Leadership, Weston Flores has transformed the OWG from a localized effort into a sophisticated, multi-national force. Her team’s "brave and dedicated" work over the past year has not just expanded the group's geographical footprint—it has fundamentally redefined what it means to save a species.

The Domestic Shadow: Why Dogs are the New Frontier of Feline Survival

The most striking revelation of 2025 didn't come from a laboratory, but from the grainy, night-vision frames of camera traps in the Sierra de Monte Negro. The footage is haunting: the delicate, arboreal Margay captured in the same frame as a free-ranging domestic dog. These "blurry captures" tell a story of habitat encroachment and the invisible threats—disease and predation—that domestic animals pose to wild felines.

In response, the OWG, through projects like Pequeños Felinos de Morelos and Huella de tigrillo Ahuatepec, has turned responsible pet ownership into a cornerstone of scientific preservation. The scale of this domestic management is unprecedented for the group. By aggregating data across Morelos, Ahuatepec, and the indigenous community of Santa Cruz del Tuito, the OWG successfully oversaw the neutering of 460 dogs and 383 cats in 2025.

This is not just animal welfare; it is strategic habitat buffering. By managing domestic populations, the team reduces the anthropogenic pressure on species like the Jaguarundi. This strategy is echoed as far as Calakmul, where the team installed two emergency night enclosures specifically for dogs, ensuring that the domestic world remains physically separated from the wild one.

Reflecting on the year's momentum, Mariam Weston Flores noted:

"It has been a particularly meaningful year for the working group... I’m also very happy to share that other organizations and individuals are now reaching out to join the working group, which makes me very optimistic about what lies ahead in 2026."

The Architecture of Peace: Chicken Coops as Conflict Resolution

In the humid landscapes of Morelia, Mahahual, and Campeche, the OWG has proven that a well-designed fence is often more effective than a traditional patrol. Through an "Emergency fund to assist with human-feline conflict," the group has treated infrastructure as life-saving technology.

The logic is simple: a farmer who loses livestock is a farmer who might retaliate. By building 10 specialized chicken coops and two anti-predatory fences in Mahahual alone, the team has protected Ocelots, Jaguarundis, and even the occasional Jaguar from unnecessary conflict. This "conservation by design" approach saw two coops built in Morelia for Bobcat protection and three in Campeche to safeguard Jaguarundis. By proactively repairing fences, the OWG removes the motive for feline mortality before it ever begins.

The Narrative Tool: Murals and Comics as High-Impact Science

To the OWG, art is not merely decorative; it is a scientific tool used to shift community perception. In the Indigenous Community of Santa Cruz del Tuito in Jalisco and the hills of Huatla, Morelos, the team used the power of storytelling to build local guardianship.

The scale of this outreach is significant. The team distributed a total of 400 educational comics across these regions and organized eight community workshops. In a series of "ribbon-cutting" ceremonies, vibrant murals were unveiled, turning school walls into permanent reminders of local biodiversity. These efforts have laid the groundwork for "community monitoring programs," where residents—now seeing themselves as protectors rather than neighbors to a nuisance—activeley participate in tracking local species.

Weston Flores emphasizes the human element that makes the data possible:

"We are deeply grateful to the families and community members who welcomed us, shared their time and knowledge... Their openness, commitment, and care are at the heart of these projects."

The Beekeeper’s Watch: Water Security in Calakmul

In the arid reaches of Calakmul, the OWG has pioneered a "coexistence" model that aligns economic interests with wildlife survival. The "Calakmul drinkers and rain capture systems" project installed five water systems to support thirst-stricken Ocelots and Margays.

The brilliance of this initiative lies in its stewards. The OWG trained local beekeepers to operate a network of 30 camera traps. These beekeepers, who move through the forest daily, have become the scientific eyes of the project. This alliance ensures that as beekeepers tend their hives, they are simultaneously guarding the water systems that keep small cats alive during the harshest dry seasons.

The Salvadoran Leap: Conservation Beyond Borders

2025 was the year the OWG transcended national lines, launching two vital initiatives in El Salvador: Project Iyulutepectl and Project Ichankuat. This expansion represents a significant increase in the group’s technical scope.

In Project Iyulutepectl, the team installed two rain capturing systems and three camera traps to monitor remote populations. Meanwhile, in Project Ichankuat, the focus turned to reforestation and firebreak creation, including the dispersal of 100 native seeds to restore the floral integrity of the region. From the Santuario del Manatí in Quintana Roo to the private conservation areas of El Salvador, the OWG is now operating across a vast, interconnected map of Mesoamerican corridors.

The Digital Frontier: GPS and the High Stakes of Rehabilitation

While landscape-level work is essential, the OWG remains committed to the survival of the individual. In 2025, the team assisted in the rehabilitation of six small wild cats: two Bobcats, three Ocelots, and one Jaguarundi.

Returning a predator to the wild is a high-stakes endeavor fraught with technical difficulty. To solve the mystery of what happens after the cage door opens, the group acquired a GPS collar for post-release tracking. In Huatla, the team is already tracking eight dogs to understand movement patterns, but the GPS collar for wild cats represents a new frontier in ensuring that rehabilitated animals don't just return to the wild, but thrive there.

Conclusion: The Road to 2026

The successes of 2025—from the 460 dogs neutered to the 30 camera traps placed in the hands of beekeepers—are the result of a rare alchemy: "partnership, support, and trust." Under the leadership of Mariam Weston Flores, the Ocelot Working Group has proven that the future of the world’s small cats is not found in isolation, but in the community.

Weston Flores has already extended an invitation for partners to visit these projects in person in 2026, a testament to the transparency and maturity of the group’s operations. As we look ahead, we are reminded that conservation is as much about the fences we build and the pets we care for as it is about the cats themselves.

The question for us remains: How do we choose to live alongside the wild world in our own backyards? If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that the smallest cats—and our smallest actions—are exactly where the future begins.