The discovery of a breeding, northern Sonora ocelot population just south of the border is a good sign for binational wildlife conservation — and a reminder of the planned border wall’s potential to block wildlife migration, say researchers who worked on a new study of the ocelots.

This northernmost known breeding population of endangered ocelot was detected on a conservation-oriented ranch lying amidst mountainous terrain, some 30 miles south of the border, says the new study. It was published Monday in PeerJ, a scientific journal.

Using remote cameras, researchers got photos of 18 ocelots over an eight-year period. They included eight males, five females and five of undetermined gender.

The endangered ocelots were photographed in separate research efforts, from 2007 through 2011 and from 2015 through 2018. A female with a kitten, of unknown sex and probably younger than 2, were photographed in February 2011, documenting the breeding activity, the study said.

Their presence makes this area a likely source of the five ocelots who have been photographed in southern Arizona mountains over the past decade, the study said. Understanding these cats’ behavior will improve ocelot conservation on both sides of the border, the study said.