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Clouded Leopard

Neofelis nebulosa
The Clouded Leopard is a curious feline, stuck somewhere size-wise between the big and small cats. They look a lot like their larger Leopard family members, albeit with a more irregular, "cloudy" shaped coat, but they actually only grow to be about 50lbs (23kg).

Clouded Leopards can be found in south east Asia, living in both forested and mountain foothill habitats. The species is unfortunately very vulnerable, and it is believed that there are less than 10,000 in the wild, though exact counts are unknown due to their reclusive nature. Clouded Leopards are now protected in many of their home nations, but their numbers have already been hard hit by deforestation and poaching.

Clouded Leopards have the distinction of being one of the best felines climbers. They have rotatable ankles that allow them to climb downwards, and they can even climb while hanging upside down!

Though they are great climbers, it is believed that the species does a god chunk of its hunting on the ground as well. They feed on monkeys, birds, deer, and various other creatures, and they have the largest canines relative to body size of any cat!
IUCN Status :  Vulnerable
Location : South East Asia
Size : Body Length up to 3ft (.9m), Weight up to 50lbs (23kg)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Felidae -- Subfamily : Pantherinae -- Genus : Neofelis -- Species : N. nebulosa

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Comments

  1. DianeMay 22, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    I don't know the Clouded Leopard at all but it is beautiful. The African Leopard has always been my favourite animal so I guess this joins it at the top of the list. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 23, 2012 at 1:29 AM

    I just loved it, nice post dude. Keep posting such post in your blog, I liked your blog.. here about more wildlife animals http://wildlifeanimalz.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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