The margay is a type of wild cat, similar to the ocelot, according to the Feline Conservation Foundation. Although the margay was first identified as a separate species in 1821, little is known about them even today because they are highly reclusive, preferring to stay hidden in the jungles of Central and South America. Like most wild cats, the margay's diet consists primarily of other animals, including rodents and insects.
Identification
Margays are small wild cats similar to the ocelot. They are usually gray to cinnamon in color, covered in dark brown or black spots. A fully grown adult margay is 18 to 31 inches long and may weigh between 5 and 8 lbs. A margay's tail can grow to be up to 20 inches long, making up 70 percent of its body length. A margay has sheathed claws and sharp teeth, which it uses to hunt for the small animals that make up most of its diet.
Prey
Margays are primarily carnivores. Since they are tree dwellers, their diets usually include tree-dwelling members of the rodent and rabbit families, like climbing rats, squirrels, opossums and chinchillas. Large margays may take down larger tree-dwelling animals like sloths and small monkeys, according to Big Cat Rescue. They also eat small rodents, like mice and cavies, found on the rain forest floor. If meat is not available, margays will eat insects and occasionally even fruit.
Hunting
Margays hunt for their meals. The margay's body is especially well-adapted for hunting in trees, where the margay spends most of its time. Margays are the only cat capable of climbing down trees headfirst like a squirrel, which they do by rotating their ankles halfway around so the claws are hanging on upwards while the margay is pointed downwards, according to the Feline Conservation Foundation. Margays are also capable of hanging from tree branches by only one foot.
Offspring
Young margays are born year-round. For the first six to eight weeks of life, a young margay's diet consists of milk from its mother, and it rarely moves from the place where it was born, usually in a hollowed-out tree or fallen log. After the first eight weeks, margay kittens will begin to eat meat and will learn to hunt in the treetops alongside their mothers.
Considerations
Margays are not hunted for food, according to Big Cat Rescue, but they are hunted for their fur, which is still traded on black markets in Central and South America despite the fact that the margay has been on the endangered species list since 1972. Since the average rainforest contains sufficient small rodents and other animals the margay eats, the primary threat to its well-being is not diet-related but comes from hunters, according to the Feline Conservation Foundation.
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