Margays are highly specialised arboreal wild cats of Central and South America with unique ankle joints allowing headfirst descent from trees. Their rarity in captivity means husbandry knowledge is limited and welfare standards are poorly developed.
Margay welfare in captivity is among the most challenging of any small wild cat due to their extreme specialisation for arboreal life. Animals that evolved to live entirely in trees cannot thrive in flat-floored enclosures. Facilities holding margays must provide tall, complex climbing structures with branches at multiple heights and angles, allowing the species to express natural locomotor behaviours including their unique rotational ankle descent. They are strictly nocturnal and experience chronic stress in bright, high-visitor-traffic environments. Diet must replicate their predominantly small vertebrate prey — birds, lizards, and small mammals. Because so few accredited zoos hold margays, husbandry knowledge is limited and welfare monitoring relies heavily on individual keeper expertise. Their rarity in accredited collections makes sharing of husbandry innovations through zoo networks particularly important. The exotic pet trade in margays represents a profound welfare failure — these animals cannot adjust to domestic environments.