Leopardus wiedii

15. Margay Leopardus wiedii French: Margay / German: Baumozelot / Spanish: Margay Taxonomy. Felis wiedii Schinz, 1821, Morro de Arara, rio Mucuri, Bahia, Brasil. Sometimes considered conspecific with L. tigrinus. Eight subspecies recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. L. w. wiedit Schinz, 1821 — SE Brazil to NE Argentina. L. w. amazonicus Cabrera, 1917 — upper Amazonas, Brazil. L. w. boliviae Pocock, 1941 — Andean slopes. L. w. cooperi Goldman, 1943 — SE Texas to N Mexico border (could be extinct). L. w. glauculus Thomas, 1903 — dry country of Mexico. L. w. nicaraguaeJ. A. Allen, 1919 — Central America. L. w. vigens Thomas, 1904 — NE Brazil to the Guyanas. L. w. yucatanicus Nelson & Goldman, 1931 — rainforest regions of Mexico. Descriptive notes. Head-body 42.5-79. 2 cm, tail 30-51. 8 cm; weight 2:3—4-9 kg. Adult males and females are about the same size. A small, lightly built cat with a long tail. Resembles a small Ocelot. Fur is thick and soft and background color varies from grayish to cinnamon. Coat is marked with dark brown or black open and solid spots and longitudinal streaks. The belly is white. Tail is long and bushy, about 70% of head-body length, and marked with about twelve dark rings and a black tip. Compared with the Ocelot, present species has shorter, more rounded head, with strikingly large, almost bulging, eyes. Backs of the ears are black with a central white spot. Paws are relatively large and flexible, with mobile digits. Habitat. Forest dwellers, more strongly associated with forest habitats than any other neotropical cat. In Mexico, found in coastal lowland, tropical deciduous, and evergreen gallery forests; in Belize, radio-collared cats preferred late second-growth forests to mature forests. In Venezuela, it is reported from humid lowland tropical forests, premontane moist forests, cloud forest, and shaded coffee or cocoa plantations. There are also reports in Bolivia using xerophytic thickets and the Bolivian Chaco. In the Linhares Forest Reserve, Brazil, seen in human-modified areas containing stands of bamboo and palm plantations. Rarely found at elevations above 1200 m. Food and Feeding. Diet consists mainly of arboreal mammals, including opossums, squirrels, and climbing rats (Muridae); they also prey on terrestrial mammals such as spiny pocket mice, cane mice, cavy, rabbits, agouti, and paca. Birds such as tinamous and guans are also taken, as are amphibians, reptiles, insects and fruit. Most prey is nocturnal and arboreal, but also hunts on the ground. Agile climbers and leapers and can climb down a tree trunk head first and hang by their hindfeet from a branch. Several anatomical adaptations allow them to perform these acrobatics: they can pronate and supinate the hindfeet, allowing them to grip a branch equally well with their hindor forefeet; and their broad, soft feet provide a good platform for jumping and an effective gripping surface for climbing. Limited information from the wild supports the notion that they do much of their hunting above the ground. Activity patterns. In captivity, two peaks of activity: one between 01:00-02:00 h and another between 04:00-05:00 h. A young male radio-tracked in Belize was strictly nocturnal, but a radio-collared male in S Brazil was active at anytime of the daytime or night. Daytime restsites are usually in trees, and cats have been located in tangles of vines or in the bole of palm trees. Movements, Home range and Social organization. They are solitary animals and appear to live at much lower densities than the Ocelot. A young adult male in Belize traveled about six km per day and over the six months he was tracked, used an area of 11 km? The home range of an adult male in S Brazil measured 15-9 km®. Breeding. Most of what is known of reproduction is derived from a small number of captive animals. The estrous cycle is 32-36 days and estrus lasts 4-10 days; the gestation period is about 76-84 days, which is longer than that recorded for other small cats. Litter size is commonly one, and at birth the young weigh about 85-125 g, although two young weighed 163 and 170 g at birth. Young begin to eat solid food at 7-8 weeks of age and by 8-10 months they are nearly adult size. Estrus has been reported in 6~10month old females, but sexual maturity is more commonly attained at about two years of age. Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. Despite their small size, heavily hunted for their skins in the past. In 1977, ranked first among the Neotropical cats in terms of number of skins in trade. In 1989, when the species was moved to CITES Appendix I, international trade ceased, butillegal hunting continues in some areas. As the species is closely tied to forested habitats, deforestation and habitat loss is a major threat. Bibliography. Armstrong et al. (1972), Azevedo (1996), Bisbal (1989), Crawshaw (1995), Eizirik, et al. (1998), Fagen & Wiley (1978), Konecny (1989), Mellen (1993), Mondolfi (1986), Nowell & Jackson (1996), Oliveira (1998), Paintiff & Anderson (1980), Petersen (1977, 1979), Petersen & Peterson (1978), Pocock (1941b), Sunquist (1992), Sunquist & Sunquist (2002), Tello (1986), Wiley (1978), Ximénez (1982).Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Felidae, pp. 54-168 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 145-146, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.637689