Texas A&M University Kingsville

KINGSVILLE (News Release) - Dr. Mike Tewes, Regents Professor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville has been researching the endangered ocelot for more than 35 years. This week at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9, many of his findings will go worldwide when the PBS television show Nature premiers the documentary, American Ocelot. Locally, American Ocelot will appear on KEDT-TV.

In addition to public television, American Ocelot will be available to stream on Amazon Prime and be posted on PBS’ Nature website at https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/.

Ben Masters is the filmmaker and narrator of the documentary, with Tewes’ work featured throughout, as the plight of the endangered ocelots in the Rio Grande Valley is detailed on the show. Tewes’ graduate students and faculty from the university’s veterinary technology program also make appearances in the film.

Tewes is a native of Odem and began working with ocelots in 1981, when he joined the research team of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M-Kingsville. He has traveled the globe looking for and researching some of the world’s most elusive wild cats.