Description

"Margays are small spotted cats that closely resemble ocelots, but are about half the size and lack the ocelot's two prominent black cheek stripes. Margays are forest-dwellers and good climbers and jumpers, so agile that captives have been seen running along a clothesline, jumping 4 m horizontally and as high as 2.5 m vertically, and hanging by their hind feet to manipulate objects with their front paws. They probably often hunt in trees in the wild, for monkeys, sloths, opossums, squirrels, and other small mammals. They probably also prey on birds they are known to go after poultry and some reptiles and amphibians, and may occasionally eat fruits and vegetables. It is unclear if there ever was a viable Margay population in the United States, where they are reported to have occurred in Texas. Work carried out in Central America suggests that the species is declining in response to human activities in the tropics and subtropics and they are protected in many areas.."

Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account