Margays: The Mysterious Treetop Felines
Written by Adelaide Keller
Written by Adelaide Keller
The mysterious margay is a small wild cat with amazing acrobatic abilities. These cats spend most of their life in the trees of the forests of Central, South, and North America.
Because these cats spend so much time in the trees, they have many special abilities that help them adapt to their arboreal life. One of those is being one of the few types of wild cats that can climb down trees headfirst. They can also rotate their feet all the way around until they face backwards (180°), which allows them to quickly change direction when climbing. Their specially adapted claws are wide and soft with flexible toes, allowing them to grip onto the branches of the trees they climb. Finally, margays have tails of about 17 inches (longer for females) that help them balance on the narrow limbs they must walk on.
Margays are mostly active at night, hence their big eyes, and eat a diet of birds, snakes, rodents, frogs, insects, and occasionally small monkeys or three-toed sloths. Their main threat is deforestation, which takes away the forests they need to thrive, so farms and ranches can be built for humans. Another threat to these cats is hunting. Hunters will kill them for their thick and plush fur coats, and later on sell/trade those coats illegally.
Even though margays are secretive cats we know a little about them and their lifestyles. These treetop felines have adapted remarkably well to their habitat, but still need to be protected. They are very interesting cats, and have many special abilities that let them rule the trees and the forests they live in.
Sources Used
Big Cat Rescue - Margay Facts: https://bigcatrescue.org/margay-facts/
Britannica Image Quest - Margay Cats: https://quest.eb.com/search/149_2092855/1/149_2092855/cite
Britannica School (High) - margay: https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/margay/50864
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020 - Margays: Out on a Limb (Page 29)
Because these cats spend so much time in the trees, they have many special abilities that help them adapt to their arboreal life. One of those is being one of the few types of wild cats that can climb down trees headfirst. They can also rotate their feet all the way around until they face backwards (180°), which allows them to quickly change direction when climbing. Their specially adapted claws are wide and soft with flexible toes, allowing them to grip onto the branches of the trees they climb. Finally, margays have tails of about 17 inches (longer for females) that help them balance on the narrow limbs they must walk on.
Margays are mostly active at night, hence their big eyes, and eat a diet of birds, snakes, rodents, frogs, insects, and occasionally small monkeys or three-toed sloths. Their main threat is deforestation, which takes away the forests they need to thrive, so farms and ranches can be built for humans. Another threat to these cats is hunting. Hunters will kill them for their thick and plush fur coats, and later on sell/trade those coats illegally.
Even though margays are secretive cats we know a little about them and their lifestyles. These treetop felines have adapted remarkably well to their habitat, but still need to be protected. They are very interesting cats, and have many special abilities that let them rule the trees and the forests they live in.
Sources Used
Big Cat Rescue - Margay Facts: https://bigcatrescue.org/margay-facts/
Britannica Image Quest - Margay Cats: https://quest.eb.com/search/149_2092855/1/149_2092855/cite
Britannica School (High) - margay: https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/margay/50864
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020 - Margays: Out on a Limb (Page 29)