Living among the Himalayan foothills is a wild cat with one of the most striking coats
in the animal kingdom.
On this episode of world’s weirdest animals we bring you the clouded leopard.
Spanning from Southeast Asia into China the clouded leopard or mainland clouded leopard
has this 2nd name to distinguish it from the Sunda clouded leopard.
The sunda received its own species classification in 2006 due to it’s darker fur and cloud
pattern.
First described in 1821 by British zoologist Edward Griffith the clouded leopard is found
in Burma, Southern China, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Taiwan and Nepal.
Living in dense tropical and subtropical rainforests, swamps, grasslands and jungles this feline
is apart of the same general family as other big cats like leopards and cheetahs.
The clouded leopard has the largest canines compared to body size of any cat
Designed to climb trees these cats have strong paws, flexible joints and short legs.
Their retractable claws are only drawn when needed which helps keep them nice and sharp.
Unsuspecting trees are the clouded leopards target of choice to sharpen their claws which
also leaves scent to mark their territory.
Being a territorial creature their domain can range from 50 to 120 miles or 80 to 200
kms.
The clouded leopard is nocturnal or a hunter of the night which preys upon not always but
most typically tree dwelling animals.
Monkeys, birds, squirrels, and rodents in the trees as well as deer, cattle, porcupines
and wild boars make up their carnivorous diet.
This feline would prefer to hunt in the trees as they spend the majority of their life among
them.
Their long tail provides excellent balance as they leap from branch to branch in a fraction
of the second.
This feline has no mating season, any time is a good time.
A pregnant leopard will give birth after 95 days to 1 to 5 cubs.
Being blind at birth just as a house cat is they weight 6 ounces.
A clouded leopard kitten will drink mommas milk for 9 months but add meat to their diet
after being 3 months old.
Able to reproduce themselves after 3 years these majestic cats can live up to 17 years
in captivity but it’s unknown their natural wild lifespan.
Today there are less than 10,000 individuals left leaving this species listed as vulnerable
on the IUCN red list.
The clouded leopards numbers are decreasing every year with no single population of them
being more than 1000.
Deforestation is the main reason for their decline in the wild as well as poaching for
the fur trade.
Disgusting jackets like this are made with the furs of these beautiful animals.
A recent arrest of someone involved in this practice was sentenced to 200 hours community
service, sadly that pathetic sentence won’t stop these people from doing it.
There are people fighting against the decline of the clouded leopard like the Clouded Leopard
project who accept donations that go towards research and conservation of these felines
in Malaysia and Borneo.
Why don’t you check out our video on the Asian Leopard Cat or the Loris and until the
next one have a good one.