International Clouded Leopard Day – 04th August
International Clouded Leopard Day – 04th August
On August 4th, International Clouded Leopard Day raises awareness of the plight of the clouded leopard. Both in the wild and in captivity, the clouded leopard needs the help to maintain its current population levels and to grow.
The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), also called mainland clouded leopard, is one of the most ancient cat species.It has large dusky-grey blotches and irregular spots and stripes reminiscent of clouds, It`s head and body length ranges from 68.6 to 108 cm with a 61 to 91 cm long tail. While more closely related to big cats, the clouded leopard is frequently described on bridging the gap big and small cats.
The clouded leopard is a solitary rare, secretive, arboreal, and nocturnal inhabitant of dense primary forest. It is one of the most talented climbers among the cats. They are capable of descending climbing vertical tree trunks head first, and hang on to branches using their large paws and sharp claws to secure a good grip. They have short, powerful legs equipped with rotating rear ankles that allow them to safely down climb in a head first posture. They can easily jump up to 1.2 m high and when balancing on thin branches, they use their long tails to steer. They use trees as daytime rest sites, but also spend time on the ground when hunting at night.
The clouded leopard occurs from the Himalayan foothills in Nepal, Bhutan and India to Myanmar, southeastern Bangladesh, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and to south of the Yangtze River in China.
Clouded leopards are carnivores. Their chief prey are gibbons, macaques, slow loris, small deer and wild boars, which they ambush from the trees or stalk from the ground. They may also hunt birds and rodents.
They are threatened by habitat loss following large–scale deforestation and commercial poaching for the wildlife trade. Skins, claws and teeth are offered for decoration and clothing, bones and meat as substitute for body parts of the tiger in traditional Asian medicine and tonics, and live animals for the pet trade. Implementation and enforcement of CITES is considered inadequate in Clouded Leopard protection.
– Source: Internet –