Margay (Leopardus wiedi)

Common Names: Margay, Tree Ocelot, Long Tailed Cat

Margays are among the most beautiful and mysterious of the spotted cats. A largely arboreal species, they are midway in size between the ocelot Leopardus pardalis and the oncilla Leopardus tigrinus. Their soft, plush coat is brownish yellow through tan, with black spots, stripes and blotches arranged in longitudinal rows, and is longer than that of the other spotted cats. The centre of each spot, or rosette, is slightly paler, but still darker than the ground colour of the fur. The belly, chest, throat, chin, and insides of the legs are a snowy white.

On the margay, as on the ocelot, the fur turns forward in the nape region, and the hairs on the neck are directed towards the crown. They have two dark cheek stripes on each side of the face. Their tail, as in many arboreal mammals, is very long, as much as 70% of the body length, and marked with broad rings, and a black tip. The backs of the large, rounded ears are black with a white central spot. Their eyes are enormous and dark brown.

As a mainly tree dwelling animal, margays are restricted to forest habitat, and have been found in humid tropical evergreen and deciduous forests, montane and cloud forests, wet, swampy savannas and occasionally coffee and cocoa plantations with large trees. Mexico is the northernmost limit of their distribution, ranging down through Central and South America to northern Argentina. A field study carried out in Belize found daytime resting areas were in trees seven to ten metres above the ground, and the home range of the male was about 11 square km. A Brazilian radio telemetry study, maintained over 18 months, found home ranges to be 16 square km. Much of their range is shared with the ocelot, who take larger and more ground dwelling prey species.

Margays are the wizards of the tree tops, and are beautifully adapted to their arboreal habitat. One unique characteristic allows them to move and hunt more effectively in the trees. Their broad, soft feet and mobile toes allow them to hang from tree limbs by one hind foot, and flexible ankles can rotate the foot 180 degrees outward. They are exceedingly quick, and even during a fall they can grab hold of a branch with one hind paw and climb up again. Their exceptionally long, heavy tail aids in balancing while moving from tree to tree. In some areas, margays hunt, sleep, and even have their young in trees. When they do descend the trees, they walk slowly head first down the trunk, unlike most cats who rush down or descend hind feet first. Captive cats have been seen jumping nearly six metres straight in the air and nine metres horizontally.

They are primarily nocturnal, as indicated by their huge eyes, and their prey items consist of small, tree dwelling rodents, opossums, squirrels, sloths, monkeys, porcupines, birds, insects, and occasionally fruit. Very little is known of their social system in the wild.

After a gestation period of approximately 76 - 85 days, a single kitten, (rarely two), is born once a year. Birth weight is 84 - 170 grams, and their eyes open at about two weeks of age. The young are darker than the adults, and have uniformly dark spots and dark grey paws. Weaning takes place at around two months, and sexual maturity is reached at about two years. They have been known to live to 20 years of age in captivity.

The captive outlook for margays is bleak, as it is with all the small spotted cats. In addition to their low numbers in breeding programs, these shy, secretive cats do not breed well in zoos, and there is almost a 50% infant mortality rate.

Very little is known of the margay’s status and abundance across its range. Until trade restrictions in the late 1980's, the margay was one of the four most heavily exploited cats for the fur trade. Illegal hunting for domestic markets or the underground fur trade continues to be a problem in some areas. In 1991, it was found that the margay was the most common pelt in the southern Mexico skin trade, despite its protected status. However, deforestation is now the primary threat to their reduced populations.

Another reason for the low numbers of this species is their specialist nature. Their density is greatest in the moist tropical forest. When these forests are destroyed, margays are unable to adjust to the newly disturbed habitat, as they are fairly intolerant of human disturbance. They are also unwilling to cross cleared areas, thus restricting them to small patches of forest, where inbreeding is likely.

The combination of over-hunting for fur, capture for the pet trade and massive deforestation has virtually decimated wild populations of this beautiful little cat. They have never been common, and are rarer in general than the ocelot, both in the wild and in captivity. Margays are legally protected over most of their range. Exceptions are Ecuador, Guyana and El Salvador, where they have no legal protection. CITES has placed them on Appendix I.