Have you ever wondered where to find a
- Slides: 5
Have you ever wondered where to find a margay in the wild? You might think there a lot of margays because there habitat goes from Mexico down to Argentina! The problem is, this is not true! This is because in the northern part of their habitat they are almost extinct!!!! Margays have a very large territory, but they share it with the Ocelot too. Unlike the Ocelot, Margays will spend there entire life in the trees hunting and living. A Margay will only live for about 18 years in the wild and 13 years in captivity so it is really important to protect there habitat so they do not become extinct!!!!! (to the right) Margay in wildlife preserve
Something else you might want to know is that Margays eat a wide variety of food. The Margays diet includes small monkeys, lizards, sloths, birds, and sometimes small rodents that inhabit the forest canopy. Margays will also take food from the rain forest floor. On the forest floor, they will eat flowers, plants, fish and frogs that are not poisonous. Even though Margays are meat eaters, the margay kittens start eating meat at 8 weeks old.
Margays have lots of adaptations to help it survive in the wild. One of them is that margays can jump 18 feet horizontally and 28 feet vertically. Wow! That is a long distance! Another interesting fact is that in the canopy, Margays have specially adapted ankle joints to climb through 180 degree weather. Unlike other south American wild cats, Margays have unique hunting skills. You might also want to know that the Margay’s agility allows the cat to scamper down the trunks of trees head first, run on the bottoms of branches, and can hang on 1 paw from a branch! Margays also have eyes that shine, they use these to catch prey at night. This is called Margay eye shine! All of these great features help Margays survive in the wild!
Margays are endangered for many common reasons. Mainly, they are endangered because the are hunted for the fur trade as well as the pet market. Poachers will take Margay kittens out of the wild. In the northern part of the margay’s habitat it is illegal to hunt them because they are almost extinct there. One small fact is that margays are the most arboreal cats in the rainforest, but they are the most endangered too. We need to help save the rainforest so we can save the Margays and all of the Rainforests the Margays live in!
