Margay - Leopardus weidii

Weight: 9-18 lbs
Head/Body: 26 in
Tail: 16 in
Subspecies: 11

The margay has a slim, graceful body with long legs and a long tail. Its coat is a light yellowish- brown with striking dark brown irregular spots, which may form rosettes. Its tail is ringed.

The margay may be found in the forests of the Yucatan and Central and South America, and one subspecies near the Texas-Mexico border, where it hunts by day, from trees, and seeks small mammals, birds, tree frogs, and lizards.

The margay is without question the best climber of all cats. It runs up and down the trees like a squirrel, virtually living in them from birth to death -- which is almost never by falling. So well adapted is the margay to arboreal life that its feet are extraordinarily flexible, with the hind feet capable of turning completely around. Its claws are also exceptionally strong and sharp. It is not unusual for a margay to be discovered hanging head downward from one hind foot while it catches a quick nap seventy feet in the air.