Clouded leopard: One of the most Elusive cat

The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is an elusive and medium-sized wild cat occurring in Himalayan foothills of Nepal through mainland South-east Asia into China. Globally, they are categories as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red list of threatened species that means their wild population is dwindling. Similarly, in Nepal it is classified as Endangered and protected priority species under the National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973.

The clouded leopard mostly prefers evergreen forests and also inhabits other forests types such as coniferous and grassland. In Nepal, the species are reported in many protected areas: Annapurna and Kanchenjunga Conservation Area & Chitwan, Langtang and Shivapuri National park. Clouded leopard carry arboreal behavior and known as the good climbers among other cat species.

It is interesting to all of us to know that clouded leopard can hang in the branches using their large paws and sharp claws which often looks similar to the squirrel behavior because in having short, powerful legs equipped with rotating rear ankles that allow them to safely down climb in a headfirst posture.

Clouded leopard mostly prey upon some arboreal mammals like squirrel and terrestrial mammals like deer, monkey, and wild boar. In Nepal, conflict between clouded leopard and human is taking peak and clouded leopard often enters human settlement and hunt on livestock like goats and poultry items which are one of the prominent threats for its conservation.

Habitat fragmentation and poaching are the main threats for the survival of clouded leopard. They are frequently hunted for its decorative fur, and its teeth and bones. Pelts of clouded leopard have been observed in the urban illegal markets of Myanmar, laos, Vietnam, Nepal and Cambodia.

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) have safeguard this elusive cat by including in appendix I which strictly banned all their specimens illicit international trade. Whereas, Government of Nepal kept them under special protected priority species. Their ecological behavior, status and distribution are slowly getting explored in the wild. Even so, it's not in adequate quantity and not worthwhile. Henceforth, focused research and community- based conservation projects are necessary to forward in the hub habitat of clouded leopard. Effective conservation policies and strategies are deemed requisite to bring the conservation spotlights towards their skyrocketing threats.

References:

·         Ghimirey, Y., & Acharya, R. (2018). The Vulnerable clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa in Nepal: an update. Oryx, 52(1), 166–170.

·         Clouded leopard. National Geography. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/c/clouded-leopard/

·         Mainland clouded leopard. Cat Specialist Group (CAT SG). Available at: http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=116

 photo from: wikimedia commons