Features

Common Name:

Clouded Leopard

Scientific Name:

Neofelis nebulosa

Family:

Felidae

Order:

Carnivora

Description:

The short coat is brownish to ocher-yellow.  It is distinctively marked with black stripes, spots and blotches.  The ears are rounded with black on the outside and white on the inside with a buff spot.  The tail is long, ringed and tipped with black.

Neither a large cat or a small cat, the Clouded Leopard usually weighs between 7 and 10 pounds and stands about 20 inches at the shoulder.

Status in Wild:

The Clouded Leopard is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, endangered on the US Endangered Species List and CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Appendix 1.  Loss of forest habitat to agriculture has had the major negative impact on wild populations.  They have also been hunted for pelts.   The species is managed among North American zoos through a cooperative program called a Species Survival Plan (SSP). 

Reproduction:

The gestation period lasts 85 to 90 days.   Two to four blind and helpless young are born.  The cubs open their eyes after 10-12 days and are very active by five weeks of age.  They nurse for 5 months but will take solid food at eleven weeks of age.

An arboreal cat that preys on monkeys, squirrels, and birds.  It is a good climber and can run down trees head-first.  This species is active at twilight, resting in the treetops for the remainder of the day and night.

The sole member of the genus Neofelis, this cat is neither truly a big cat or a small cat, fitting between these two general groupings and overlapping some with each.

They have an ossified hyoid that allows them to purr but not roar. 

Found in the dense forests of India, south China, Nepal, Burma, Indochina to Sumatra and Borneo and Taiwan.