Conservation efforts often focus on protecting public land from development, but most of the world’s land is privately owned. A recent study in Brazil showed that ocelots, a small species of spotted cat, often inhabit forests on private land that are protected by the country’s New Forest Code. Regulations like these to protect forests on private land can be just as important for wildlife conservation as preserving public land. When these regulations come under threat, wildlife species like the ocelot will suffer the consequences.
