CLOUDED LEOPARD

Neofelis (or Pardofelis) nebulosa

Physical Description

The Clouded Leopard has pale yellow to brown fur, with large irregular shaped markings on its body. Each marking is dark brown or black around the edge and lighter in the middle. It is this cloud-like pattern that gives the cat its name. The Clouded Leopard’s forehead and legs are spotted. The base of the Leopard’s tail is spotted too, but the remainder of the Leopard’s tail is banded.

The Clouded Leopard’s skull and teeth are similar to those of the big cats (genus Panthera). The Leopard’s skull is long, narrow, and low. The Clouded Leopard’s canine teeth, which measure 3.8 to 4.5 centimetres (1.5 to 1.8 inches) in length, are the largest canine teeth, relative to body size, of any of the cats. It often takes just a single bite from these deadly canines for the Leopard to kill its prey.

The structure of the Clouded Leopard’s body and its other traits, on the other hand, are more similar to those of the smaller cats (genus Felis).

The Leopard is stocky, with short legs and broad paws. The Clouded Leopard’s body measures 60 to 107 centimetres (24 to 43 inches) long.

The Leopard’s tail is long and bushy, measuring on average 60 to 87 centimetres (24 to 35 inches) in length. The Clouded Leopard weighs about 20 to 30 kilograms (44 to 66 pounds). The Leopard cannot roar as loudly as the big cats.

Habitat

The Clouded Leopard inhabits a wide variety of habitats, including primary evergreen tropical rainforests, secondary and logged forests, relatively open, dry forests, grasslands and scrub, and mangrove swamps. In the Himalayan foothills, the Leopard has been spotted at altitudes of up to 2,165 metres (6,500 feet). The Clouded Leopard is found in Tibet, China, Taiwan, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia (Sumatra and Kalimantan).

Eating Habits

The Clouded Leopard hunts young buffalo, deer, small orangutans, monkeys, pigs, wild boar, squirrels, birds, and even porcupines.

Behaviour and Reproduction The Clouded Leopard is an excellent climber, due to its long tail and broad paws, which provide grasp and balance. The Leopard can climb

down tree trunks headfirst, hang from branches with its hind feet, and travel across horizontal branches while hanging beneath them. The Clouded Leopard also has superior binocular vision and is able to see quite well in light conditions that are six times too dark for humans. The Leopard hunts in the early morning and from the late afternoon into the evening. The Clouded Leopard stalks its prey on the ground, or ambushes its prey from overhanging branches. The Leopard rests and sleeps in the trees.

The Clouded Leopard is generally a solitary and secretive animal, except during its breeding season. The Leopard reaches sexual maturity at about two years of age. The Clouded Leopard’s gestation period is about 86 to 95 days. The size of a single leopard’s litter ranges from one to five kittens and averages three kittens. Kittens weigh 150 to 280 grams (5.3 to 9.9 ounces) at birth. Born blind and helpless, kittens do not open their eyes until 10 to 12 days after birth, and they do not become active until five weeks after birth. Kittens are independent by nine months of age. The average life span of the Clouded Leopard, for leopards in the wild, is 11 years. Leopards in captivity may live for slightly over 17 years.

Present Status

The Clouded Leopard is categorized as Vulnerable in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Leopard is also listed under Appendix I of CITES and is protected by national legislation across most of its habitat range. The Clouded Leopard is under first class protection in China and is included in Schedule I, Part I of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972. The population size of the Clouded Leopard is declining.

It is currently estimated to be at below 10,000 mature breeding individuals, with none of the sub-populations containing more that 1,000 mature breeding individuals.

Threats to Survival

The principal threat to the Clouded Leopard’s survival is deforestation due to logging. The Leopard is also widely hunted to obtain its decorative pelt, its teeth, and its bones. The highest proportion of Clouded Leopard pelts for sale is found in Taiwan; however, Leopard pelts are also sold in urban markets across South East Asia. The Clouded Leopard’s bones are used in traditional Asian medicine.

References

BBC, Science & Nature – Wildfacts – Clouded Leopard, http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/20.shtml, Aug 2004.

Big Cats Online, Clouded Leopard, http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/agarman/bco/ver4.htm, Aug 2004.

Big Cat Rescue, Clouded Leopard, http://www.bigcatrescue.org/clouded_leopard.htm, Aug 2004.

Cat Specialist Group, 2001: Neofelis nebulosa. In: IUCN, 2003: 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, http://www.redlist.org. See also:

http://lynx.uio.no/catfolk/sp-accts.htm, Aug 2004.

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Clouded Leopard, http://www.cincinnatizoo.org/Exhibits/AnimalExhibits/CatHouse/

CloudedLeopard/cloudedleopard.html, Aug 2004.

Hattner, R., 2002: Neofelis nebulosa, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/

Neofelis_nebulosa.html, Aug 2004.

By: Environment and Development Desk, DIIR, CTA.