margay

noun

1. Leopardus wiedii, a spotted cat native to Central and South America.

   “In Costa Rica margays were once widely distributed in dense forest from the coastal lowlands to about 3,000 meters elevation in the interior mountains.”

   “Margays are small and slim spotted cats (60cm/40cm/3.5kg) with long bushy tails and long legs with large feet. Typically found in mature forest, margays are nocturnal and arboreal, hunting mostly in trees (they can rotate their hind legs and descend a tree head first).”

   “The margay has broad feet, flexible ankles, and a long tail, all adaptations for arboreality (Nowell and Jackson 1996). In captivity, the margay is well known for its climbing and jumping acrobatics.”