Margay

Sizes Length: 34 - 52 inches Weight: 9 - 20 lbs. Breeding Sexual Maturity: 6 - 10 months Gestation: 74 - 86 days Litter size: 1 kitten

Lifestyle Habit: diurnal and most likely solitary Diet: squirrels, opossums, small birds, porcupines, marmosets, capuchin monkeys, three-toed sloths, rats, and fruit Lifespan: up to 20 years Related Species Often confused with the Ocelot, and they are closely related.

The Margay has fur colored tawny-brown, and is covered with black rosettes and elongated blotches. The margay is the about the same size as a domestic cat. Margays are arboreal, meaning they are only found in forested areas up in the trees. Contrary to its name, the Jungle Cat is found in a variety of habitats but typically is not one to live in "jungles". The margay once ranged from Texas (where they are now extinct) through Central America and northern Peru. Margays have an exceptionally flexible ankle joint which can turn a full 180° which allows it to run head first down a tree.

Margays also have the unique ability to hang from branches with only one foot. The Margay has an exceptionally long, heavy tail which aids it in balancing while moving from tree to tree. No melanistic, or completely black Margays have been recorded. Their eyes of the Margay are enormous and dark brown, indicating that they are primarily a nocturnal creature. Margays only give birth to one kitten, once a year. Trade restrictions were placed in the late 1980's, however, the margay still was one of the four most heavily exploited cats for fur trade. Deforestation is now the primary threat to their reduced populations. Margays are legally protected over most of their range however Ecuador, Guyana and El Salvador, are the exceptions where they have no legal protection.

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