Until the 1990s, margays were hunted for the wildlife trade, at which point the killing of the species was outlawed in most countries; however, years of persecution resulted in a notable population decrease.

[2] In Mexico it has been recorded in 24 of the 32 states, ranging northward up the coastal lowlands and Sierra Madres as far north as of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas on the US border in the east and southern Sonora in the west.

[9] Pleistocene fossils of margay-like cats, dubbed Leopardus amnicola, have been found in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, suggesting that they may have had an even wider distribution in prehistory.

It can turn its ankles up to 180 degrees, so it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws, and it is able to jump up to 12 ft (3.7 m) horizontally.

Morphological adaptation such as these is a strong indication that the margay is well equipped to thrive in ecosystems such as rainforests in which vegetation provides the wild with protection from possible threats.

Additionally, scientists that have conducted behavioral studies on margays found that population density was higher in environments with substantial amount of trees and minimal human disturbance.

Copulation lasts up to sixty seconds and is similar to that of domestic cats; it takes place primarily in the trees and occurs several times while the female is in heat.

Margays reach sexual maturity at twelve to eighteen months of age and have been reported to live more than 20 years in captivity.

[17] Felis macroura was proposed by Maximilian von Wied in 1825 who described margays that he obtained in the jungles along the Mucuri River in Brazil.

[18] In the 20th century, several type specimens were described and proposed as new species or subspecies: Results of a genetic study of margay mitochondrial DNA samples indicate that three phylogeographic groups exist.

[25] Therefore, three subspecies are currently considered valid taxa:[26] In the Spanish language, it is known as gato tigre, tigrillo, caucel, maracayá or margay.