There are 2 wild cat species that I know of which can walk underneath horizontal branches as if they were a sloth. The species are:
- Margay
- Clouded leopard
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Here is a description of the fabulously beautiful (too beautiful as they have been hunted for their pelts) clouded leopard’s arboreal ability from the distinguished book: Wild Cats of the World by Mel and Fiona Sunquist:
Physically, the clouded leopard is well suited to an arboreal lifestyle. This cat’s long, thick coat, short legs, and large feet allow it to move easily through the trees. Hemmer’s observations of captive animals show that they are able to climb slowly down a vertical trunk head first, move along horizontal branches while hanging beneath them like a sloth, and hang from branches by their hind feet. The clouded leopard’s arboreal abilities are thought to rival those of the highly arboreal margay of South America, and statements such as Weigel’s observation that “the clouded leopard can move so skilfully it can seize monkeys, squirrels, and birds in the treetops” have strengthened the notion that it is a strictly arboreal hunter. However, Guggisberg pointed out that many of the specimens bagged by European sportsmen were taken on the ground. They are usually animals that had moved out of cover while a stretch of forest was being beaten for other game. According to the early hunting literature, clouded leopards were also occasionally brought to bay on the ground by hunting dogs.
Wild Cats of the World page 280
Clouded leopards are mild mannered and they purr. So sad that they have been persecuted. So wrong. Clouded leopards do spend a considerable time on the ground but are so well adapted to a tree lifestyle.
I have to say that the piece of text that I’ve quoted is very depressing to me. That’s because as you can see, they were hunted. Now they are endangered as usual. Any wild cat that has an exotic coat is in danger of being poached to extermination by humankind. That’s a fact and a disturbing one.
The clouded leopard is inbred due to small population sizes.
And now I would like to quote from the same book about the margay and their arboreal skills:
Petersen has described the play behaviour and acrobatic skills of a pair of captive animals [margays]. Margays are amazingly agile climbers and leapers, and they are capable of ricocheting off objects while in mid leap. They have been seen jumping 8 feet straight into the air and 12 feet horizontally. Comment: the margay is a small wild cat species about the size of a domestic cat by the way. They can climb down a branch head first, and they can hang by their hind feet while manipulating an object with their front feet. Their reactions and agility are such that even during a fall, they can grab a branch or vine with one paw and climb up again. These acrobatic abilities develop early. A four-month-old captive male was able to hang by his hind legs while manipulating objects with his front paws. This young margay seemed to enjoy demonstrating his arboreal prowess….Margays have several anatomical adaptations that allow them to perform these aerial acrobatics. Their hind feet can rotate inward through 180 degrees, allowing them to grip a branch equally well with the hind limbs or forelimbs. Instead of the narrow, rather firm feet of domestic cats, margays have broad, soft feet with very mobile toes. These wide feet provide a good platform for precision balancing and jumping as well as an effective gripping surface for climbing and hanging onto branches. The cat’s long tail is an important adaptation for arboreality, helping to balance.”
Wild Cats of the World page 137
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