Text Leveling System

Facts About The Ocelot

RDQ:	526	Max Word/Sent	33	Total Words	635		Diff Words	297
Lex	640	Ave Word/.Sent	15	Hi Freq occurs	376	59.2%	Hi freq	93	31.3%
AR	2.8	Long Sentences	30	Low Freq occurs	59	9.3%	Low freq	45	15.2%

Introduction
The ocelot is a medium sized small cat that lives in the South American jungles, as well as a few other select places. They are also called painted leopards because the markings on their fur is distinct with spots and stripes. They are closely related to the Margay. They climb and run well, as well as being very good swimmers.]]
Behavior
The ocelot has a home range of up to 11.5 square miles, depending on the area where they live. Males like to patrol the home territory to make sure no other ocelots are moving in! Normally they sleep during the day on a branch or in thick vegetation on the ground. They do most of their hunting at night.]]
Appearance
The ocelot has thick, short, velvety fur that is a tawny yellow to a reddish Gray color. They have black markings on their backs and sides. There are also stripes on their heads and face as well as dark spots on their heads. Their tail has dark rings on it. Overall, the ocelot looks like a pretty house cat, Just a bit bigger!]]
Reproduction
The ocelot breeds all year round. After mating the female will find a hollow place in the rocks around where she lives to make a place to have her babies. She is pregnant for almost three months and usually has a litter of only 2 or 3 kittens. The kittens fur is dark when they are born and the colors become more evident when they are about 4 weeks old. They are full grown at about 1 year of age and will usually leave the mother's home range shortly after that to determine their own territory.]]
Lifespan
Ocelots live for 8 to 12 years, on average.]]
Size
The adult ocelot is 22 to 40 inches long and weighs 25 to 35 pounds. This is about twice the average weight of most housecats.]]
Habitat
Most ocelots live in the jungles of South America. Although they have been spotted as far north as the very southern areas of Texas! They can live in grasslands, forests, mangroves and marshes, as long as there is plenty of vegetation for them to hide in, they seem to do well in many different types of habitats. Since they are strong swimmers, even occasional flooding does not pose much of a problem for them.]]
Diet
Ocelots are meat eaters that sleep or rest during the day and hunt at night. They eat a lot of rodents, but also like rabbits, fish, birds, lizards and crabs. They have been known to eat snakes too. Of larger animals, they will hunt and eat monkeys, armadillos, anteaters and turtles. For the most part, any small to medium sized animal that is part of their native range is a possible meal for them.]]
Enemies
Ocelots do have several enemies in their natural range. Larger cats like the Jaguars and Pumas will hunt and kill them, as well as the harpy eagle, the Anaconda snake and large birds of prey. The coloring of the ocelot helps them to maintain cover of camouflage much of the time.]]
Suitability as pets
Believe it or not, the ocelot has been kept as a pet throughout history. It's probably not a pet for everyone, but they have been successfully tamed to the point that people have made them a pet. In some areas they might be illegal to keep, but, if not, you likely need a special permit. So be sure to check your local laws before deciding that you want one!
Bear in mind, though, that the ocelot is a wild animal and needs meat to thrive, so it's not a house pet that you could feed cat food from your local pet store. It's probably a better idea for you to see some at your local zoo, instead of getting one for a pet.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Oral/Natural

Table of Contents

Headings

Features

Topic

*Animals

Animals: Jungle

Low Frequency Words

anaconda	average	camouflage	determine	evident
grasslands	habitat	habitats	harpy	hollow
housecats	illegal	introduction	jaguars	jungles
leopards	lifespan	likely	maintain	mangroves
margay	markings	marshes	mating	medium
occasional	ocelot	ocelots	overall	patrol
pose	pregnant	pumas	reddish	related
reproduction	select	shortly	southern	tawny
territory	thrive	throughout	vegetation	velvety