The oldest-living ocelot in human care is in Minnesota, sanctuary says

At the end of this month, an ocelot who resides at The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota, will turn 27 years old — making her the oldest cat of her kind in human care.

"Twenty-seven years is almost unheard of for an ocelot," said Tammy Thies, the sanctuary's founder and executive director. "Rio's birthday is worth celebrating not just because of her age, but because she gets to spend her senior years where she's safe, respected and loved."

Thies said Rio has been in Minnesota for nearly two years, previously spending most of her life at a now-closed Species Survival Plan breeding facility in Texas.

Rio now enjoys "the peaceful retirement every wild cat deserves," Thies said.

"Watching a 27-year-old ocelot confidently climb onto platforms or curl up in a hammock is incredible," she said. "Cats like Rio prove that when wild animals receive proper lifelong care, they can continue thriving well into their senior years."

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, there are fewer than 100 ocelots in the U.S. due to habitat loss, with most found in southeastern Texas and southern Arizona. Thriving in "tropical and subtropical rainforests to semi-arid, dense thornscrub," Ocelots mostly live throughout Central and South America, as well as some Caribbean islands.