International Clouded Leopard Day
International Clouded Leopard Day (ICLD) is a day of international awareness and an attempt to increase the profile of Clouded leopards both in captivity and in the wild. We celebrate this wonderful species on 4th August each year with organizations all over the world!
SPECIES and RANGE:
-
Mainland or Indochinese Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa. Found in the Himalayan foothills, throughout Southeast Asia and into Southern China.
-
Sunda Clouded leopard Neofelis diardi. Native to Borneo and Sumatra
In 2013 the Formosan Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa brachyura was declared extinct but there have since been reported sightings in Taiwan.
REPRODUCTION: Similarly to their wild diet little is known about Clouded leopard reproductive behavior. Based on captive findings an average little size of two or three kittens are born following an 85-95 day gestation. The young are weaned at 8-10 weeks and sexually mature by 20 months. It is highly unlikely that the male has anything to do with rearing the young following mating, however it is not yet possible to rule this out. In captivity breeding success has occurred both with and without the male present following the birth of kittens.
The wild lifespan of a Clouded leopard is unknown but likely to be between 12-15 years. In captivity they can live up to 17.
Image by: Bill Wood
FEEDING and BEHAVIOUR: Part of the fascination with Clouded
leopards is how little we know about them. Even basic information such as prey
species is not fully known. However there has been recordings of them killing
several species of primate including Proboscis monkeys and even Orangutans,
rodents such as ground squirrels, ungulates such as Hog Deer, mammals such as
Bearded pigs and Binturongs as well as a variety of birds and fish.
The apparent killing technique which differs to
other cat species is a fatal bite to the back of the head and/or neck rather
than causing asphyxiation from the front of the neck.
It is also not known exactly what times of day
they hunt as individuals have been recorded at varying hours however a majority
reveal a crepuscular type behavior (appearing at twilight) which we have seen
mimicked in captivity.
CONSERVATION: Listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List with a decreasing population trend and on CITES Appendix I. The key threat facing Clouded leopards is deforestation mainly for palm oil production, rubber plantations and clearing for settlements. Losing their forest means that prey is scarce which encourages animals to seek food from local villages which can result in persecution. Habitat reduction also means that territories are smaller causing increased competition for food and females.
Illegal poaching does happen but is not a major threat. Opening up the forests for loggers creates pathways into the forests for poaching. Clouded leopards can get caught in snares set for tigers. Their skin, meat and bones hold commercial value.
Image by: Mark Hawkes
DESCRIPTION: The most striking thing about these cats is the cloud like pattern on their coat that both gives them their name and the ability to camouflage perfectly in their forest home. Their coat is also where you can see the main difference between the Sunda and Mainland species – the Sunda coat is generally darker.
All of their distinctive features give us an insight into how Clouded leopards act in the wild. They posses the largest canine (5cm) of any cat relative to their skull size and coupled with having a 90 degree gape this gives great jaw power when hunting. Their short legs, long tail that can reach up to 1 meter in length and rotating ankle joints allows quick movement amongst the elevated levels of the forest. Those ankle joints give the ability to hang upside down and move down trees head first. All of these features show how well Clouded leopards can move at height and therefore hunt a variety of primates.
The biggest difference between males and females is size. Males are considerably larger weighing up to 22kg and females being an average of 10-13kg. It is theorized that this weight difference allows females to reach thinner branches in the forest canopy so they can get away during mating if needed. Additionally it is likely that this difference in size will limit the females ability to bring down larger prey.
