Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)

Common Names: Clouded Leopard, Mint Leopard

Clouded leopards are so named because of the large, blotchy, cloud-like markings on their body, head, legs and tail. There may also be some smaller, solid spots on the head and legs. The rather long, slim body is usually greyish brown to yellowish brown in colour, and the cheeks and neck are striped with black. The underparts and inner sides of the legs are white or pale tawny in colour. The long and rather narrow head has a broad muzzle; irises of brownish yellow to greyish green; and ears that are short, round, and dark on the backs with white central spots. The legs are rather stout, with the hind legs noticeably longer than the front, and broad paws. The long, well furred tail is marked with rings and is tipped with black or grey.

Flexible ankle joints enable clouded leopards to climb down trees head first, a trait shared with the margay Leopardus wiedii, of Central and South America. Their upper canines are relatively longer than those of any other living cat, and may be an adaptation to holding onto prey caught in the trees, a more difficult feat than catching it on the ground.

Essentially an animal of tropical southeast Asian forest, the clouded leopard has rarely been observed in the wild. Thus many of its habits are virtually unknown, and much information has been taken from interviews with local residents and captive observations. Although usually reported to be arboreal, and having been observed resting in trees, the clouded leopard probably spends as much time hunting on the ground as in the trees. Some of the prey items taken include monkeys, young orangutans, wild boar, small deer, civets, porcupines, squirrels, birds, fish, and domestic stock.

Births in captivity have occurred from March through August but animals having a tropical distribution often don't have a well defined reproductive season. Clouded leopards are thought to give birth in nest-like structures above ground in hollow trees, but ground level dens in thick vegetation have also been found. One to five, usually two, kittens are born after a gestation period of 86 - 93 days. Kittens weigh 140 - 170 grams at birth, their eyes open after 10 - 12 days, they begin to walk at 19 - 20 days, take solid food at about 10 weeks and will nurse for up to five months. Full adult colouration is attained around six months, and independence from the female occurs by ten months of age. Sexual maturity occurs between 24 and 36 months, and captive animals have lived to 17 years.

Clouded leopards are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity because of the high incidence of males killing females. (Only about 20% of the captive population has reproduced). Artificial insemination and embryo transfer techniques have been successful on a few wild cat species and this may be the main hope for maintaining a healthy captive population. As well, some breeders in the United Kingdom have recently put forth the theory that female clouded leopards are monestrous, and must be bred only with males they have bonded to over a long period of time. With this small cat, as with so many other small cat species, much is still to be learned about successful husbandry techniques.

These leopards are sacred to some native populations of southeast Asia. The Malaysians call them ‘tree tigers’ because they have been seen resting in the branches of trees. The Chinese call them ‘mint leopards’ because their spots remind them of mint leaves. Unfortunately, none of these names has helped protect them from being hunted for their beautiful coat, or because of their raids on domestic stock. They are still widely hunted for their teeth and decorative pelt, and for bones for the traditional Asian medicinal market. Clouded leopard pelts were the most commonly available felid pelts in a survey of black market wildlife traders in China in 1991. They are also featured on restaurant menus in Thailand and China, catering to wealthy Asian tourists.

The population is probably largest on the island of Borneo, because of the absence of tigers Panthera tigris and leopards Panthera pardus. In 2007, these island cats were declared a separate species - Neofelis diardi - not just a subspecies of Neofelis nebulosa. This makes the island cats even more critically endangered.

The main threat to these forest cats, however, is the loss of rainforest habitat to agriculture and the lumber industry. There is no legal protection for clouded leopards outside protected areas in Bhutan. They are thought to be extirpated from Taiwan, and there is no information from Cambodia. The actual status of the population is unknown, and they are classed as vulnerable by the World Conservation Union, and have been put on Appendix 1 by CITES.

Photo Courtesy of The Clouded Leopard Project