Silly Cats, tricks are for Monkeys !

A tree ocelot cat called a margay was discovered to mimic the calls of a monkey so they could lure in prey. In 2005, a margay was heard attempting to imitate the call of a baby pied tamarin monkey. The high-pitched squeal that the cat produced was a very poor imitation but it was sufficient enough to draw in curious adult tamarins feeding nearby. However, when the monkeys crept closer, they saw the margay and ran away before the cat could attack. Recently, more of this behavior has been reported and despite the failure of the attempt that first day, the observation suggests that the margay cats use ''surprising psychological cunning to nab dinner.''

This article relates to biology concepts because the mimicry of the cats suggest its trying to adapt to its conditions and environment around it to better survive and be able to produce more offspring. This might be just what it needs because this specific species of cat has been listed under the International Union of Conservation of Nature. This means that it is very likely to face a high risk of extinction in the near future. They are also probably not the only cats using this type of mimicry adaption because people have reported other cats like jaguars, tricking their prey this exact same way. The margay moms likely pass the imitation strategy on to their young. This learning with the mother seems to be essential for the survival of the wildcats.

We should care because the cat's main threats are habitat destruction, the market for exotic pets and pelts, and angry farmers who shoot the margays who raid poultry stocks according to IUCN. All of these threats are because of humans so the fact that thier species may soon be on the fast-track to extinction would be on our shoulders. This is also important because in the future, this might become a permanent adaptation for the wild cats to mimic their prey so that they can lure them in. They might evolve into different species who are better suited to survive in the wild with these new evolutionary adaptations.

-Crisonis Marte

Jungle Cats Mimics Monkey to Lure Prey-A First link