Margays are excellent climbers and spend more time in the trees than on the ground.

Subspecies
L.w.amazonicus, L.w.boliviae, L.w.cooperi, L.w.glauculus, L.w.nicaraguae, L.w.vigens, L.w.wiedi, L.w.yucatanicus.

Life span
Margays live for up to 20 years.

Statistics
Body length: 45-79cm, Tail length: 33-51cm, Shoulder height: 30-45cm, Weight: 3.2kg.

Physical description
Margays have a thick yellowish-brown coat with a white underside. They have diagonal stripes of rosettes and bands across their flanks, and wide rings on their long tail. The head is broad with large, round ears and they have long limbs with wide, flexible paws.

Distribution
Margays are found from North Mexico to North Argentina.

Habitat
Margays live in the forest.

Diet
They hunt small mammals such as rats, squirrels, opossums, porcupines and monkeys; as well as birds and insects.

Behaviour
Margays are nocturnal and arboreal, which avoids them having to compete with the terrestrial, diurnal ocelot. They are excellent climbers and spend more time in the trees than on the ground. They can hang from branches by their hind feet and run straight down tree-trunks head first. Adaptations include broad, soft feet with mobile toes, and the hind feet can rotate 180 degrees.

Reproduction
Females give birth to 1-2 kittens after a gestation period of about 80 days. Kittens weigh about 84g at birth.

Conservation status
Margays are not listed by the 2000 IUCN Red List, but on CITES: Appendix I. They are naturally rare but are endangered by fur hunting and deforestation.