Trivia question for Jan-15-2011

Carter is obviously a cat lover as he picked out todays special guest, so here goes:  These cats are found almost exclusively in areas of dense forest, ranging from tropical evergreen forest to tropical dry forest and high cloud forest. They are primarily nocturnal and typically live solitary lives except to mate.

Can you tell us what this animal is and also tell us one of their special tactics they use for hunting it’s prey?

Good Luck 

Answer:

Great job guessing everyone.  When I first saw this picture I too thought it looked like a baby Ocelot like Cheryl’s son did but this is actually a Margay.  Margay’s are spotted cats native to Middle and South America.  Named for Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied (a German explorer from the early 1800′s), it is a solitary and nocturnal animal that prefers remote sections of the rainforest.

The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot in appearance, although the head is a bit shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs are longer.  Margay’s are unique in their hunting abilities because they are one of the few species that actually hunt by mimicking the vocalisation of a prey species.  Pretty cool huh?

Here is more on these little felines: Margay

Thanks for playing along