Most wanted in Jamaica... an ocelot

Everyone's on high alert, for a kitten

Some odd things happen on our island, out of the blue. This week, a small boat was intercepted by our Coast Guard off the south coast of the island. The boat contained one Jamaican, two Hondurans, four monkeys, 12 parrots, and one “tiger cub” - later identified as an ocelot (a young one, the size of a kitten). Oh, and “a quantity of marijuana” for good measure.

Sadly, the little ocelot managed to escape when they were landed on the wharf in Black River, St. Elizabeth. I don’t think he will be found. Black River is famous for its crocodiles, and of course there are always the street dogs, etc… Poor baby.

A local small hotelier says that smuggling exotic animals (one assumes from Central America) is not an unusual occurrence in the area. While everyone is scrambling to find the poor little lost kitten, I am wondering how this trade has been happening without anyone pointing to or reporting it.

But we do know that wildlife trafficking is a cruel, greedy, lucrative business - very often to fund organised crime. There’s lots of money to be made out of it, so they can buy more guns. At least this dramatic occurrence has served to highlight something that most Jamaicans were blissfully unaware of - but should know about.

By the way, selling native parrots in cages by the roadside in Jamaica, which is seen almost daily, especially on the north coast - that is illegal, and also helps to fund gangs, most likely. Instead of harassing motorists for having daytime lights on their cars, the police should pursue the issue of wildlife trafficking (and other environmental crimes) vigorously and courageously.

They could put a dent in it, if they tried.

The Ocelot is a wild cat about twice the size of an average domestic cat. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. Carl Linnaeus scientifically described it in 1758. So says Wikipedia. It is quite beautiful with those big round eyes, but can be aggressive. Never mind, our police are well armed. They shouldn’t be afraid of a kitten.