Clouded Leopard

The clouded leopard, like the snow leopard, is one of those that is somewhere between the small cats and the great cats in that it cannot purr like the small cats and it cannot roar like the true great cats. The clouded leopard gets its name from the distinctive cloud like markings on its body, head, legs and tail. The inside color of the clouds are darker than the background color, and sometimes they are dotted with small black spots. Black and pale white individuals have been reported in the wild. The legs and belly are marked with large back ovals and the back of the neck is marked with two thick black bars. Its eyes are yellow. The tail, which is as long as the head and body length, is thick and plush with black rings. The average body length is between two to three feet in length. The clouded leopard is a short legged cat with the hind legs being longer than the front. It has an elongated skull that is different from all other cats, placing it in a separate genus. Its canines are the largest of all the cats in proportion to its body size. It is sometimes referred to as the "modern day saber-tooth." They can weigh between twenty-two and forty-five pounds.

Native to South Eastern Asia, the habitat of the clouded leopard is generally that of dense tropical forest up to a height of 7,000 feet, however recent reports indicate that the cat may also inhabit more open forested terrain and swamp margins. The clouded leopard ranges from countries of the Himalayas, southern China, and Taiwan to peninsula Malaysia. In 2006, scientists determined that the clouded leopards living on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo are a distinct species, Neofelis diardi. Rarely seen in the wild, there is some controversy as to whether the clouded leopard is an arboreal speciesÐ'--strongly tied to dense tropical evergreen forestÐ'--or a terrestrial hunter that uses roads and trails in logged forests. The answer is probably somewhere in betweenÐ'--the clouded leopard can hunt both in trees and on the ground. These cats can also live in drier forests if there is suitable prey. A distinct sub-species known as the Formosan clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa brachyurus) is reported to be found only on Taiwan, however lack of recent sightings suggest that the loss of natural habitat and decline of its prey base may indicate that this sub-species may now be extinct in the wild.

The clouded leopard is a carnivore feeding on deer, cattle, goats, wild pigs, reptiles, birds, porcupines, and monkeys. It hunts by day or night, either by stalking its prey on the ground or by ambushing it from the trees.

The reproduction of the clouded leopard has not been observed in the wild, only in captivity. Births occur from March to August, and the gestation period of the clouded leopard is between 86 and 95 days. A litter is usually born in a hollow tree and consists of one to five kittens, each weighing around 150 to 280 grams. Their eyes open after ten to twelve days. Kittens are covered with a yellowish-gray fur at birth, and the adult markings are acquired within the first six months. The cubs are active within five weeks of birth. They take solid food at ten and a half weeks of age and nurse for five months. They are independent at nine months.