A rare wild ocelot roaming southern Arizona now has a name: Himdam, the O’odham word for “traveler.”
The name was chosen by students in the San Xavier District Voices of Our Youth program after they learned about the cat’s remarkable journey across the Sky Islands region and invited the broader Tohono O’odham community to vote on three possible names.
“A wild ocelot is wandering through the mountains near our land, and his story is still being written,” said Isaac Valencia, a member of the Voices of Our Youth program.
“Learning about how he crossed valleys, highways and entire mountain ranges showed us how wild and special the Sky Islands are, and how important it is to protect these places,” Valencia said. “Naming this ocelot Himdam felt right because he’s always on the move.”
The ocelot’s story began June 12, 2024, when researchers with the Phoenix Zoo first detected the male cat in the Atascosa Highlands near the U.S.-Mexico border, west of Nogales.
Just over a month later, the same animal was photographed again more than 40 miles away in the Whetstone Mountains, a trek that likely required crossing Interstate 19.
The cat was not seen again until July 4, 2025, when it was detected in the Patagonia Mountains. A week later, it appeared in the Santa Rita Mountains, north of there and visible from the Tucson metropolitan area.
Researchers say the ocelot traveled at least 111 miles across four mountain ranges over more than a year, the longest documented movement ever recorded for an ocelot.
“We haven’t seen one travel this far,” said Russ McSpadden, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “There’s no scientific documentation of one ever traveling this far before.”
Working with the Center for Biological Diversity, students in the Voices of Our Youth program learned about ocelots living at the northern edge of their range, including their physiology, presence in the Sky Islands and the need for connectivity with breeding populations in Mexico.
The students then developed three possible names in the O’odham language: Al Ha’icu Ga:gdam, or “Little Seeker”; Himdam, or “Traveler”; and Al Doṣ, or “Little Dot.”
The names were shared with the broader Tohono O’odham community through an online vote. Himdam won overwhelmingly, drawing about 80% of the vote, according to McSpadden.
McSpadden said working with the Voices of Our Youth program gave students a chance to become part of the cat’s story while also learning about conservation.
“When I showed them trail camera footage of this spotted cat sipping from a spring in Arizona, everyone’s face lit up,” McSpadden said. “I think it was really intriguing to them to know that this sort of elusive and extremely rare and endangered cat is nearby.”
Ocelots are listed as endangered in the United States under the Endangered Species Act and are also protected in Mexico. Researchers believe ocelots detected in Arizona likely disperse north from breeding populations in northern Sonora, roughly 31 to 50 miles south of the border.
Although male ocelots are occasionally detected in southern Arizona, McSpadden said no breeding population is known to exist there. The only known breeding population north of the border is in South Texas.
McSpadden said ocelots moving through southern Arizona face steep challenges, including highways, lowland desert crossings and barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. Vehicle collisions are among the biggest threats to ocelots during travel, while border infrastructure could further cut off movement needed for recovery.
“Cross-border wildlife corridors are absolutely critical,” McSpadden said. “We have an incredible habitat north of the border, but we do not have females, and for that to happen, these cats need to be able to continue their movement north.”
A recent study published in Therya Notes by researchers with Sky Island Alliance and the Phoenix Zoo documented Himdam’s movement and confirmed its scientific significance.
“This individual’s movement is extraordinary and expands what we understand about how far ocelots can travel across fragmented landscapes,” said Eamon J. Harrity, wildlife program manager at Sky Island Alliance and a co-author of the study. “These observations highlight the importance of protecting habitat and connectivity between mountain ranges.”
McSpadden said programs like Voices of Our Youth are also key to building future conservation leaders.
“Kids are going to be the next generation of conservationists and wildlife biologists,” McSpadden said. “When I get to take that stuff into the classroom and work with young folks, it gives me a refreshed sense of hope and drive.”
Himdam’s journey, conservationists say, highlights both the resilience of wildlife in the Sky Islands and the fragility of the habitat that sustains it.
“Himdam is a reminder of the resilience of these native Arizona species and our commitment to share a future with them,” said Kinley Ragan of the Phoenix Zoo.