Margay
By: Cassie Jantzen
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Taxonomy and Evolution:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Leopardus
Species: Leopardus wiedii
All Subspecies: Leopardus wiedii...
Glauculus, oaxacensis, wiedii, cooperi, pirrensis, nicaraguae, amazonicus, boliviae, vigens, salvinius.
How long has this species been in existence?
The scientific name Felis wiedii was used by Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821 in his first scientific description of the margay, in honor of Prince Maximilian of Wied-Nuewied, who collected specimens in Brazil.
Closest living relative to this species:
The ocelot.
Ancestors to this species:
The margay is closely related to the leopardus family, some of its ancestors include...
Geoffroy's cat - Leopardus geoffroyi
Kodkod - Leopardus guigna
Tigrina - Leopardus tigrinus
Andean mountain cat - Leopardus jacobita
Pampas cat - Leopardus colocolo
Fun fact: Due to spending most of its time up in trees, the margay also has the name "tree ocelot".
Description:
The margay are the size of a large house cat, weighing from 5 to 12 pounds on average. One way they can be distinguished is by their large eyes, the margay also has rosettes on their fur much like the leopard.
Their feet have soft pads and their ankles are able to rotate 180 degrees, these them to maneuver well in the trees. They are also able hang/ run upside down because of their claws and ankles. They're also mostly nocturnal.
Margays live around 20 years old if held in captivity, otherwise they live on average 12 to 14 years old. The oldest living margay on record lived 25 years.
The female tends to be smaller in size, but has a longer tail than males. The males body is 3.5 feet long at the longest, their build is more broad than the females. The females also have slightly different coloration.
Fun fact: When jumping over distance, margays fling all of their four legs out, as a squirrel does. Their long tail and their large paws help to keep balance.
Habitat:
The margay can be found from Mexico (North America) all the way to Argentina (South America). In the 1850's there was one spotted in Texas. Its home is usually in tropical or subtropical forests, these forests are more humid and are covered in evergreens, pines, and eucalyptus.
In the north the temperatures are closer to 60-70 degrees and in the south its closer to 40-50 degrees. These temperatures also create a good climate for animals like rats, squirrels, opossums, sloths, and birds.
The precipitation in the forests in Mexico-Argentina is high, this allows the habitat and surroundings to thrive. Most regions receives around 8 inches of rainfall per year. Both the margay and the ocelot are non-invasive species. The margay is very active at night. Its diet includes birds and bird eggs, small mammals, reptiles, and fruit. They primarily hunt in trees. Since they hunt mainly in trees, this makes birds a convenient resource for them to consume. They are carnivores! It is assumed that margays eat around 2-3 meals a day, but it all depends on the catch and the size of their meals.
Fun fact: Instead of stalking prey, the margay likes to lie in ambush for prey.
Reproduction, Development and Social Structure:
Their mating season is thought to be October-January. After mating they carry their kittens for 4 months before giving birth. On average they birth 1-2 kittens.
Fun fact: The nickname for a mating female is "queen" and the male is a "tomcat".
The mating couple forms a temporary bond during mating season, sometimes even hunting together while mating. However, the male leaves before the female gives birth, leaving her to do the raising on her own. Females only give birth once every 2 years.
Because the margay lives in trees, they live solo for the majority of their lives. Their agility and speed allows them to balance out the ecosystem within their habitat, they help with maintaining healthy predator to prey numbers.
Fun fact: Margays are able to run head first down trees, just like squirrels.
A margays communication is similar to a dog, they put their urine on certain spots to mark their territory/ where they have been. They do this because they don't like to live in groups, and are unwilling to share their space.
Stage 1
Stage 1
At this stage, the kitten is born and stays with the queen until it reaches 1 years old. By the time they're 5 weeks old, they are able to start catching and eating their own food.
Stage 2
Stage 2
Next, they hit age one, by now they are living on their own and have hit sexual maturity. However, they do not actually start mating until they are 2 to 3 years old. By this age, they are just starting to learn their way around the trees and forests.
Stage 3
Stage 3
Lastly, after age 2 they are fully grown and have started the process of reproduction. This is also when they become "masters of the trees" and have mastered hunting their meals.
Fun fact: The spots on the fur of a margay are present when
Causes of Death:
The struggle that the margay faces with their population numbers is mainly because of the deforestation occurring in their habitat. Much of their forest is being cleared for pastures, agriculture, and road building.
Along with the loss of habitat, their low reproduction numbers don't help. Because they only birth one kitten per year and it takes at least 2 years for sexual maturity, there is a gap in numbers that will only grow larger.
Hunting of margays is also highly illegal, however, that doesn't mean that it isn't still an issue. In this case, they are usually captured and used for the pet trading.
Fun Fact: Margays are the only feline that has adapted to living in the trees.
Competition:
Margays are territorial animals, they live in trees and this causes them to be more cautious of their surroundings. Including who is surrounding them. Much like dogs, they mark their territories with urine.
Another mammal that they have conflict with is humans. Humans will invade the margays space, as well as poaching- which is slowly becoming larger and larger of an issue.
Unfortunately, there is not much conducted research done on margays about their competition. It is assumed that because they are nocturnal they are harder to document and collect research on.
IUCN Rating:
The total population size of the margay hasn't been quantified yet, but according to the IUCN Red List, this species is thought to be on the rare size for the range that they cover. Their numbers are decreasing quicker than expected and they have been classified as Near Threatened (NT).
Fun Fact: There was a point that researches claimed that the margay would never become extinct. However, they are now facing near extinction.
Impact of Humans:
One way that humans have interacted with margays is through poaching. Their fur is very valuable because of the colors, patterns, and softness of their fur. They were sold in the fur trades of 1980's, and still face issues with poaching to this day.
Humans interact with margays by using them for research purposes in conservations. This is how the longest living margay was monitored. By keeping them in preserves it allows researchers to find out more information on animals that have little to no research like the margay.
Climate change is a huge factor in the margay population/ survival rates and this is because over time, the climate change and deforestation will lead to increased temperatures and unpredictable rain patters. This is an issue because it will 100% affect the forests, water availability, biodiversity, and agriculture. As if the margay species weren't struggling already, now they have to put up with rising temperatures which leads to destruction of trees which results in loss of habitat.
The 1850's is when humans first noticed and wrote about the margay species. However, since then there has been very minimal recent findings on the margay.
There are minimal efforts that can be made to truly save the margay species. The obvious solutions are to raise money for conservations and sign petitions against dangerous and illegal acts like poaching. We can also speak out and protest against the rainforest destruction, not only are people fighting for the margay, but millions of other animals and their homes in the jungles.
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