Origin
The margay Wildcat (Leopardus wiedii) can be found in Mexico, Central America and northern South America. The southern part of the habitat ends in the territory of Uruguay and in the north of Argentina.
They can be found almost exclusively in forested areas with dense vegetation. It has also been observed in coffee and coconut plantations.
Fossils of the margay cat have been found in Florida and Georgia. This shows that in the past these cats had much larger territory. There are currently few specimens in the wild.
It can be found in the literature under the names: ocelot cat, tree ocelot, margay wild cat, etc.
Margay Food
Margay is a nocturnal feline most of the time. It is a fairly rare animal, so food studies have been done by analyzing the stomach contents and feces.
It feeds on small animals, sometimes even small monkeys, birds, eggs, lizards, tree frogs, fruits, etc.it also consumes herbs and other types of vegetation for digestion.
Due to the flexibility of the ankles (more details below) it was observed how a squirrel ran. She is able to track her prey and hunt only in trees.
They also hunt mice or guinea pigs on the ground. It has recently been shown to mimic the sounds of the tamarin monkey to lure it.
Appearance Margay
Although the wild cat looks quite similar to the ocelot cat in reality they differ, with the margay cat having a larger head, larger eyes, longer legs and tail.
It weighs between 2.6 and 4kg(5.7 to 8.8 lb), body length is 48 to 79cm(19 to 31 in) and tail length 33 to 51cm (13 to 20 in). Unlike other cats, this one has only two tits.
The coat is Brown marked by numerous rows of dark brown or black spots. The underside is lighter in color. The color varies from almost white, light cream to dark brown at the spinal cord on the back. The back of the ears are black except the center part which is white.
He has well-developed muscles. It can hang in one paw and jump up to 4m lengths (horizontally).
Margay Behavior
Margay is an enviable climber. He climbs easily because he spends most of his life in trees jumping after various birds and monkeys.
It is one of the few species of cat that has the advantage of having its ankle so flexible that it allows it to descend headfirst from trees. In cats it is a great advantage. His ankles have 180 degree flexibility.
She is particularly agile and like any feline is strong. It is generally a nocturnal vanantor, but it has also been seen during the day. They prefer to spend most of their time in trees, but also descend to the ground when hunting or moving from one part of the territory to another. The day is used to rest on the branches of trees.
Like most cats, it is a solitary animal that only searches for its half during mating. Although their distribution area is large, specimens are quite rare. The territory of one individual is 11 to 16km square. Like all felines, they mark their territory unchecked, including by showering urine or scratching trees or Earth.
The sounds they make are not heard far away, it is assumed that cats do not communicate over long distances.
Leopardus wiedii wiedii, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina
Leopardus wiedii amazonicus, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela
Leopardus wiedii boliviae, Bolivia
Leopardus wiedii cooperi, north of Mexico
Leopardus wiedii glauculus, Mexico
Leopardus wiedii Nicaragua, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica
Leopardus wiedii oaxacensis, Mexico
Leopardus wiedii pirrensis, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Leopardus wiedii salvinius, Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador
Leopardus wiedii yucatanicus, Yucatan
Breeding Margay
The margay Wildcat goes into heat 4 to 10 days every 30-36 days, the period when it meows after males. Males respond by meowing or quickly moving their heads from side to side.
These gestures are not seen in any other cat. Copulation (the act of mating mating ) lasts about a minute. It is similar as in domestic cats with different that it occurs in trees.
Gestation lasts about 80 days after which the female gives birth to one cub, very rarely to two. The cub at birth weighs 85-170 grams, it is quite large for a cat, but it is due to large gestation periods.
The little ones open their eyes at the age of two weeks and feed on milk from the female. From the age of 7-8 weeks they begin to consume dry food. Due to the fact that there are dangers in the wild, they manage to survive only 50%.
Margay cat reaches sexual maturity after 12 to 18 months. The lifespan is about 10-12 years in the wild.
They live in captivity for about 20 years, but there are also specimens that have lived for 24 years.
