Margay
Leopardus wiedii (Schinz, 1821)
The margay (Leopardus wiedii), also called the tree ocelot, is a mammal in the family Felidae and the genus Leopardus, within the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized carnivore with an adult body mass of 3.25 kg, and the highest value reported by our sources is 3.6 kg.
Quick facts about the margay
The margay is a nocturnal, scansorial animal of forest habitats. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 3.25 kg – 3.6 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 21 years – 24 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 79 days – 81.3 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1 – 1.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 21.6 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Scansorialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the margay
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the margay live?
Not recorded
What is the margay?
The margay (Leopardus wiedii) is a small wild cat native to Mexico, Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal felid, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forests.
Until the 1990s, it was hunted for the wildlife trade. Since 2008, it has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is thought to be declining due to loss of habitat and deforestation.
The scientific name Felis wiedii was used by Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821 in his first scientific description of the margay, named in honour of Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, who collected specimens in Brazil.
From the Wikipedia article “Margay” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Margay&oldid=1383396191), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the margay endangered?
The margay is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the margay classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyFelidae
- genusLeopardus
- SpeciesLeopardus wiedii (Schinz, 1821)
Synonyms Felis elegans, Felis macroura, Felis wiedii
Other names and names in other languages (36)
- Tree ocelotEnglish
- Tree ocelotEnglish
- مارجArabic
- قط المارجايArabic
- قط إسبانيا الجديدةArabic
- Тигрова коткаBulgarian
- PeludoGerman
- BaumozelotGerman
- BergozelotGerman
- LangschwanzkatzeGerman
- ΜάργκεϊGreek
- Akrobata tigro-katoEsperanto
- caucalSpanish
- BurriconSpanish
- CaucelSpanish
- Gato MontésSpanish
- Gato PintadoSpanish
- gato tigreSpanish
- TigrilloSpanish
- Pikksaba-pugalkassEstonian
- MargaiEstonian
- PitkähäntäkissaFinnish
- hosszúfarkú macska (margay)Hungarian
- マーゲイJapanese
- 마게이Korean
- TreozelotNorwegian Bokmål
- MargaykattNorwegian Bokmål
- margajPolish
- ocelot nadrzewnyPolish
- MaracajáPortuguese
- Gato-maracajáPortuguese
- Длиннохвостая кошкаRussian
- Amomosrm
- แมวมาร์เกย์Thai
- МаргайUkrainian
- 長尾虎貓Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the margay
Other species in the same genus Leopardus.
Ocelot
Leopardus pardalis
Oncilla
Leopardus tigrinus
Kodkod
Leopardus guigna
Geoffroy's cat
Leopardus geoffroyi
Tilcayo
Leopardus tilcayo
Pampas cat
Leopardus colocola
CompareMargay vs OcelotMargay vs OncillaMargay vs KodkodMargay vs Geoffroy's cat
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a margay?
The margay is a mammal in the family Felidae, subfamily Felinae, within the order Carnivora.
How heavy is a margay?
An adult margay has a body mass of 3.25 kg, with the highest value reported by our sources at 3.6 kg.
What does a margay eat?
The margay is a carnivore.
What habitat does the margay live in?
The margay lives in forest habitats, where it is nocturnal and scansorial.
Is the margay endangered?
No. The margay is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does a margay live?
The margay has a lifespan of 21 years, and the highest value reported by our sources is 24 years.
How many young does a margay have?
The margay has 1.5 young per litter as a representative value, with a lowest reported value of 1, after a gestation period of 81 days.
Who named the margay?
The margay was named Leopardus wiedii by (Schinz, 1821).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Margay (Leopardus wiedii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/margay
“Margay (Leopardus wiedii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/margay.
@misc{margay_2026,
title = {Margay (Leopardus wiedii)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/margay},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}