margay

Noun

margay (plural margays)

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.2002, Mel Sunquist, Fiona Sunquist, Wild Cats of the World, University of Chicago Press, page 137
   • 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).2008, Kirk Smock, Guyana, Bradt Travel Guides, page 32

   Synonyms:

   kuichua, tree ocelot, tiger cat