CLOUDED LEOPARD (Neofelis nebulosa):

Status: CITES Appendix I, IUCN -V           NPWC Act- Schedule I

Distribution: Ranges from central Nepal eastward through Sikkim, Bhutan, India into Burma, China and the Indo-Malayan Peninsula. THe distribution of clouded leopard in Nepal is poorly known, but this species has been verified from Janakpur in the eastern Terai, Butwal in the central Terai, and from Pokhara in the middle hills.

Distinctive Characters: Long body and tail and short limbs. There are brown spots with white on it pale grey to yellowish brown coat. There are few spots on head, leg and tail. Total length of an adult male is 6.5 feet; weight 42-65 lbs. Its upper canine teeth are quite large (different than other leopards). Skillful in climbing trees, occasionally jumps from one tree to another.

Habitat: The clouded leopard is reported to inhabit dense evergreen subtropical and tropical forests.

Habit: Only anecdotal information is available on the life history, food habits or movements of this secretive, solitary felid. Clouded leopards are strongly arboreal, but this may not always be the case. They probably feed upon game birds (pheasant, jungle-fowl), deer (hog deer, barking deer), hares and small rodents, as well as domestic chickens, goats and pigs.  It does not leave prominent signs in the form of feces or scrapes along road or trail edges as other solitary cats do.

The gestation period is 3-4 months. Two cubs are produced at a time. Generally caves and hollow tree trunks are used for baby issue.