With nimble feet, clouded leopards play hide-and-seek in the forests

The clouded leopard is categorised into two species: the mainland clouded leopard distributed from central Nepal to peninsular Malaysia, and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) native to Borneo and Sumatra.

Two scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have found that the clouded leopard in western Assam’s Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve seems to play a mysterious game of hide-and-seek in the tropical canopy forests.

The mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is often likened to the Ice Age sabretooth because it has the largest canines in proportion to its skull size among all cat species. It also has rotating rear ankles that enable it to climb down head first from trees, unlike the other felines.

The duo — carnivore ecologist Salvador Lyngdoh and research scholar Urjit Bhatt, both from the Department of Landscape-level Planning and Management at WII — also observed that the cat with cloud-like spots on its hide does not follow any specific pattern of operating in a certain space, unlike other carnivores.

They seemed to go wherever they pleased without worrying about other predators, primarily because of their ability to climb trees, even hang upside down from large branches, the study published in Oryx—the International Journal of Conservation said.

“The clouded leopards are basically the ninjas of the forest, striking with agility and strength,” Mr. Lyngdoh told The Hindu.

The clouded leopard is categorised into two species: the mainland clouded leopard distributed from central Nepal to peninsular Malaysia, and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) native to Borneo and Sumatra.

The mainland clouded leopard is tagged vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and is considered at high risk of extinction in the wild due to deforestation and poaching.