Latin Name: Leopardus pardalisSize: Thirty to forty inches long and no more than thirty poundsHabitat: Dense thornscrub near waterThe ghost cat pads through the brush on silent, velvety paws. Creeping nimbly under low-lying branches, it uses highly evolved night vision to zero in on prey. A sudden flash of golden brown eyes is swiftly followed by the swipe of razor-sharp claws, a hiss, and a fatal pounce upon an unlucky mouse or rabbit. Then the cat vanishes into the night, where it’s always watching but rarely seen. We’re talking, of course, about what may be Texas’s most elusive and beautiful creature: the ocelot, a small but powerful wildcat that has captivated humans for millennia. It frequently appears in ancient Mesoamerican art, and Salvador Dalí kept…
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