Diet and Behavior

I'm Hungry...Where's the Caf?

The margay is a highly arboreal animal and spends the majority of its life in the trees. Thus its

prey, discovered mainly through fecal analysis, are also tree dwellers and include squirrels, opossums, arthropods(insects), small birds, rats, mice, and a variety of other small arboreal organisms.

 Spread Em'
 For being such a small animal, about the size of a housecat, the margay has quite a large spread. By this I mean the amount of area that it routinely covers, what is more or less its homeland. A study sponsored by the Oklahoma City Zoo concluded the average range of a margay to be about 4.03 km2. The study 		         Margay photo- Maggie
Photo, used with permission, by Nancy Vandermey
collected data via radio telemetry after eight margays, five male and three female, were captured and radio collared. Along with discovering the range of the margay, researchers were also able to detect the margays peak levels of activity, which occurred between 1600 and 400. The lowest levels of activity occurred at 1200 where the animals were found residing high in the canopy, resting.
Margay photo-Julian
 Photo, used with permission, by Nancy Vandermey		          How Do I Respond to That?
 The margay show a collection of responses to specific stimuli. When certain odors are discovered, margays often rub their chin and cheeks on the scented areas. Flehmen is a reaction that occurs when urine is sensed, this reaction is characterized by lip curling and head raising. When obnoxious odors are present, the responses often seen are squinting eyes or the dropping of food. Margay also have a variety of vocalizations used to display their emotional state. Eight distinct sounds have been discovered and 
include purring, meowing, bark/meowing, moaning, hissing, spitting, growling, and snarling used in various intensities to show their mood. When feeling threatened, the margay arches its back and
raises the hair on its back and erected tail. (right)

clip art heartLove is in the Air: Reproduction
 The margay is a highly solitary individual, until obviously, it's time to mate, then the hunt is on. The estrous cycle of the margay is usually 32-36 days long, and the heat of each period is 4-10		 Margay photo-Julian
 Photo, used with permission, by Nancy Vandermey
days long. Once fertilized, gestation lasts
approximately 2.5 months; cub maturity occurs between 10 and 12 months in females and 16-18 months in males. The litter size of the margay is one and very rarely two, this small set of offspring is a contributing factor to the populations decline. It is also one of the main reasons the margay is listed on CITES Appendix I endangered species list. The other of which is the margays high infant mortality rate in captivity, which has been shown to exceed 50%. 		         Margay photo- Maggie

       Photo, used with permission, by Nancy Vandermey