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"Spots in the Desert" is the 2nd episode of the sixth season of Wild Kratts. It is the 136th episode of the series overall. Written by Martin Kratt and directed by Martin Kratt and Chris Roy, the episode originally aired on PBS Kids on April 16, 2019.
Synopsis[]
In the episode, the Wild Kratts settle on doing another wildcat-themed adventure in Central America. They send a message to Wild Kratts kids in the area, asking them if they have seen any wildcats around. They receive a message from Manuel, who claims he saw an ocelot outside his house in the Sonoran Desert. Surprised since the Sonoran Desert is at the far northern reach of the ocelot's distribution, the Wild Kratts decide to travel to the Sonoran Desert to corroborate Manuel's discovery by spotting an ocelot in the desert.
Plot[]
The episode begins with a live-action segment. While walking in the Sonoran Desert, the Kratt brothers describe the ocelot, a wildcat native to Central and South America that sometimes comes up to the Sonoran Desert. They also imagine finding an ocelot in the desert and prowling around with ocelot powers. Afterward, they exclaim "What if?", and the episode transitions into the animated segment.
Chris's organizing of his wildcat Creature Power Discs gives Martin the idea of doing another wildcat-themed adventure. Koki agrees with Martin and sends a message to Wild Kratts kids in Central America, asking them if they have seen any wildcats around. Shortly afterward, they receive a message from Manuel, who claims he saw an ocelot outside his house, but before he could tell the Wild Kratts where he lives, the transmission cuts out. However, this does not deter the Kratt brothers from heading out into the rainforest and hoping to find an ocelot. They find tracks left by a wildcat, which they narrow down to coming from either a margay, an ocelot, or a jaguar. From what they know about the paw sizes of the aforementioned wildcats, the Kratt brothers determine that the tracks were left by a jaguar. The Kratt brothers try searching for wildcats in the vicinity of the track but to no avail. Koki then calls to tell them that they are searching in the wrong place: Manuel does not live in Central America but in the Sonoran Desert. The Kratt brothers are surprised since the Sonoran Desert is at the far northern reach of the ocelot's distribution. After the Kratt brothers return to the Tortuga, the Wild Kratts leave the rainforest for the Sonoran Desert.
From left to right: a margay, an ocelot, and a jaguar
The Tortuga touches down in the Sonoran Desert. The Kratt brothers run into the desert and eventually find Manuel. Manuel leads them to his house, where they find tracks left by a wildcat. Martin pulls out a chocolate chip cookie and compares it with the paw imprints. Since the cookie and the imprints are about the same size, the Kratt brothers determine that they came from an ocelot, which inspires Martin to name the ocelot Cookie. The Kratt brothers follow the tracks as they lead into the desert. At the same time, Martin notices another set of tracks, leading him to two different animals (roadrunner and jackrabbit). Martin then notices Chris far ahead of him, so he activates his Creature Power Suit (Roadrunner Power and then Jack Rabbit Power). After catching up with Chris, he deactivates. At sunset, the Kratt brothers enter a gorge in the desert rock, where they find a pair of ocelot kittens and their mother, Cookie. After confirming to Manuel that he did in fact see an ocelot in the desert, the Kratt brothers want to conclude their adventure by playing with the kittens. However, Cookie refuses to let them play as humans, so the Kratt brothers decide to activate Ocelot Power. Aviva tosses a pair of Ocelot Power Discs to Jimmy, who teleports them to the Kratt brothers. After activating their Creature Power Suits, the Kratt brothers play with the ocelot kittens.
The episode transitions into the closing live-action segment. The Kratt brothers try searching for an ocelot in the Sonoran Desert. Unable to do so before the episode's end, they conclude the episode by saying "Keep on creature adventuring; we'll see you on the creature trail!" Then the episode ends with an ocelot.
Characters[]
Animals[]
Animation[]
Note: Featured animals are in bold.
- Ocelot: Cookie
- Elf Owl: Elfis
- Harpy Eagle
- Margay
- Jaguar
- Greater Roadrunner (called Roadrunner)
- Sonoran Collared Lizard (called Lizard)
- Antelope Jackrabbit (called Jackrabbit)
- Coyote
- Gila Monster
- Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (called Rattlesnake)
Creature Pod and database images[]
- Lion
- Canada Lynx (called Lynx)
- Clouded Leopard
- Caracal
Mentioned[]
Note: Mentioned animals are linked to Wikipedia.
Live Action[]
Note: Live action animals are linked to Wikipedia.
- Desert spiny lizard (called Spiny lizard)
- Giant desert hairy scorpion (called Hairy desert scorpion)
- Arizona mountain kingsnake
- Bobcat
- Black-tailed jackrabbit (called Jackrabbit)
- Cougar (called Puma)
- Gila woodpecker
- Collared peccary (called Javelina)
- Sonoran spiny-tailed iguana (called Iguana)
Trivia[]
- "Spots in the Desert" is the Wild Kratts' seventh wildcat-themed adventure.
- The live action segment is known for having Chris say "And that's a cactus!"
- Martin is shown to have a fidget spinner at the beginning of the episode.
- Jimmy Z mentioned the events of "Caracal-Minton" when comparing ocelots to caracals.
- Key facts and creature moments
- Ocelots are usually found in Central and South American rainforests but can sometimes on rare occasions be found in the southwestern areas of North America in the sonoran desert.
- Ocelots are bigger than domestic cats but are smaller than mountain lions. Their spotted coat also has some stripes mixed in as well.
- Ocelots, like other spotted cats use their spotted coats for camouflage.
- Most wild cats are elusive, secretive and hard to spot and are also great at hiding.
- Wild cat paw prints generally have no claw marks shown due to the fact that most wild cats have retractable claws.
- Spotted South American wild cats include jaguars, ocelots and margays.
- Margay paws are the size of a quarter, ocelot paws are about the size of a cookie, jaguar paws are the size of a pancake.