Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region

Lucinda Kanczuzewski
Kettering High School, Detroit, MI
Endangered Species in the Himalayan Region

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Amphibians

Maps

CLOUDED LEOPARD

The clouded leopard usually lives in tropical rainforest, but it has been recorded at elevations as high as 9600 feet in the Himalaya. It is a small cat, weighing between 24 to 45 pounds. Its name comes from the cloud-like markings all over its body. The coat is frequently silver-gray, and the inside color of the clouds is darker than the background color. The legs and belly have large dark ovals instead of clouds, and the back of the neck is marked with two thick black bars. The hind legs are longer than the front legs, and the tail is as long as the head and body combined.

Clouded leopards are found from Nepal through Indochina, Sumatra and Borneo. They are IUCN Vulnerable. They are adept climbers, running down trees head-first and climbing tree branches with their back toward the ground. They are good swimmers and have been found on small islands to which they have swum. Clouded leopards can jump five meters between two trees. Their long tail aids in balance, and their exceptionally long claws help them grip trees. They also have exceptionally long teeth a fact which raises issues about their evolution. However, there is little evidence that this animal evolved directly from saber-toothed cats. They are so different from other cats that they are in a genus of their own, Neofelis, which means "new cat."

The diet of the clouded leopard includes birds, small mammals, porcupines, deer, and wild boar. Although they hunt equally well in trees as on the ground, they use trees primarily for resting.

The breeding habits of this animal are obscure. In captivity, they have an average litter of three cubs after a three-month gestation period. However, they rarely reproduce in captivity, because the male kills the female during mating. It is to be assumed that this practice is a product of captivity, for a mammalian species cannot survive using this mating practice.

Forest clearance is the greatest threat to the survival of the clouded leopard. Poachers kill these cats for their fur and their teeth, and their bones are a component of Asian medicine. Clouded leopard has been featured on the menu of various restaurants in Thailand and China.

LINKS

Clouded Leopard 1

Clouded Leopard 2