Research overview: margay persistence in fragmented and peri-urban forest

The margay, a highly arboreal small cat with extraordinary climbing ability, depends on forest canopy and is considered sensitive to fragmentation, yet records occasionally place it near plantations and forest-edge settlements. This overview synthesises the limited camera-trap and telemetry literature on margay habitat needs, vertical use of forest, and tolerance of disturbed and secondary growth. It examines why arboreal specialisation makes the margay more vulnerable than ground-foraging relatives to canopy loss around expanding agriculture and settlement, and the conservation value of connected forest patches. The synthesis frames the margay as a forest-dependent felid at the margins of human-modified Neotropical landscapes.