Ecuador releases ocelots rescued from illegal trade
Illegal wildlife trafficking in Ecuador carries a prison sentence of up to three years.
In Ecuador, ocelots previously trafficked illegally have been released back into the wild.
6’000 Wildlife rescued
More than 6,000 wild animals have been rescued in recent years.
In Ecuador, six ocelots rescued from the illegal wildlife trade have been released into the wild. The six females were set free in the Cotacachi Cayapas National Park near the border with Colombia, the Ministry of the Environment announced on 11 September 2021.
The animals had been nursed back to health for a year at the James Brown Rescue Center before being released into the wild.
To make future identification easier, they were fitted with microchips. The nocturnal wildcats were released in an area “where humans have no contact with them and they can live in their natural habitat and develop freely”, explained Placido Palacios from the James Brown Rescue Center.
