The Marvel of the Margay

“Oh look, an ocelot!” someone said. “That’s not an ocelot,” the cat nerd piped up. “It’s a margay.” It’s me, hi, I’m the cat nerd! Through the display glass, a spotted feline (so much smaller than an ocelot!) looked me in the eye. Hardly bigger than my domestic cat friend at home, this beguilingly cute wild thing was the margay (Leopardus wiedii). We were at La Paz Waterfall Gardens, a true treasure trove of natural beauty. I was captivated by the beauty of this refuge nestled in the highlands of Costa Rica. While visiting, I stood next to a thundering waterfall, served as a perch for a butterfly, and best of all, got to see dozens of amazing animals native to the local ecosystem. And now that I had finally reached the cats, I was beholding the crown jewels of La Paz. I will never forget the brief encounter with that margay. These tiny, spotted acrobats are called tigrillo or gato tigre in Spanish. Their original human-language name, though, was Mayan: cholul or chul ya. <a href="https://medium.com/@obscurecats/the-marvel-of-the-margay-237aab1831e8">Visit Now</a>