Clouded Leopards

CLOUDED LEOPARDS

The clouded leopard is a medium-sized wild cat found in the forests of Asia. Little is known about the wild behavior of clouded leopards due to their extremely secretive nature. This beautiful Asian cat, named for its spotted coat.Clouded leopards inhabit the parts of Asia from the rain forests of Indonesia to the foothills of the Nepali Himalayas. Clouded leopards' habitat is lowland tropical rainforest but they also found in dry woodlands. They have also been spotted in the foothills of the Himalayas at an elevation of 9000 feet.

The Clouded Leopard is a medium-sized cat, 2 ft to 3 ft 6 in long and weighing around 15 and 23 kg. The Clouded Leopard is a tree dweller and are good climbers. Contrary to their name, Clouded leopards are not a “type” of leopard but an independent species. Clouded leopards are great climbers, the prey base includes deer, pigs, monkeys, sambar, civet, gibbons, fish,domestic cattle. In India it feeds on small deer and other animals of similar size, including domestic stock such as goats and pigs. The clouded leopard’s wild population is estimated at about 10,000 mature breeding individuals (IUCN 2005).

Clouded leopards are one of the best climbers in the cat family. Virtually nothing is known of the social behavior of wild clouded leopards. They are solitary, like most cats, unless associated with a mate while breeding. Mating can occur in any month, with 1 to 5 cubs produced per litter. Cubs are independent at approximately 10 months of age.

It was thought that a single clouded leopard species exist in the wild but recent studies have concluded that there are two completely separate species of clouded leopards.

CONSERVATION EFFORTS TO SAVE CLOUDED LEOPARDS

Major threat is habitat destruction and degradation primarily due to forest logging and soaring need of land for agricultural purposes. One example is use of the land for palm oil plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Other threat is illegal collection of aloe wood, a fragrant wood providing valuable oil for Middle Eastern markets from protected areas. The effect of this illegal extraction is wood collectors live off the land, hunt for meat and displacing wildlife.

Thirdly, the clouded leopard and its prey are targeted by both commercial and subsistence hunters for their skins, bones.

Fourthly use of clouded leopards parts for traditional medicines and exotic fashions in the booming economy of China is catching up.

EFFORTS FOR PROTECTION

The World Conservation Union, the organization that maintains the global Red List of endangered species, lists the Clouded Leopard as Vulnerable. In addition, CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, lists the Clouded Leopard as an Appendix I species, meaning that international trade in Clouded Leopards is banned. In the countries of its native range, hunting of the Clouded Leopard is prohibited; however, these bans are poorly enforced.

An initiative is taken by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to adopt a cooperative strategy for strengthening protection of wildlife and promote the enforcement of legal provisions.It is essential that protected areas should be increased in which predators and their prey can live.