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Clouded Leopards in Thailand


This clouded leopard rescued in Thailand was declawed by the prior owner, but took to its new arboreal enclosure seemingly unaware of his missing claws
(Jessie Cohen/NZP).
 

Over the last 20 years, rapid deforestation and illegal hunting have threatened the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) across its range, from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Assam (eastern India) east to Sumatra, Borneo, and eastern China. National Zoo scientists have bred clouded leopards at the Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia, for more than 20 years. They, along with colleagues at the Nashville Zoo and other zoos, are lending their support to Thai counterparts in hopes of improving zoo clouded leopard welfare and breeding. Among the steps they are taking: providing a more balanced diet, constructing
taller enclosures that allow the cats to climb, and reducing zoo clouded leopards’ proximity to larger carnivores, which can cause increased stress. They are often prey to tigers, for example, in the wild. Zoo scientists also train Thailand Royal Forestry Department staff in techniques for censusing wild clouded leopards in the country’s parks, and are setting up motion-tripped cameras that capture snapshots of clouded leopards and other wild cats as they pass through the forest. In such places as Khao Yai National Park, they are identifying critical habitats and mapping species distributions—helping to set a solid foundation for future conservation work.

ZooGoer 32(2) 2003. Copyright 2003 Friends of the National Zoo.
All rights reserved.

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