Wildlifeof Malaysia
Mainland Clouded Leopard
Cats
Photo: Ian Dugdale · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Neofelis nebulosa
Basic stats
Habitat
Dense primary forest, from the Himalayan foothills through Southeast Asia
Range
Himalayan foothills, mainland Southeast Asia and southern China
Size
Head and body 68.6–108cm; tail 61–91cm
The clouded leopard, also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a medium-sized, short-legged cat named for the large, cloud-shaped blotches on its coat: dark-edged grey or dusky patches on a grey to ochre background. Broken stripes run from the eyes and mouth across the cheeks and neck, and the ears are black. Head and body length is 68.6–108 cm and the tail 61–91 cm. Its upper canine teeth are the longest of any living cat in proportion to its size, and unlike the big cats it can purr (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is a solitary, secretive cat of dense forest, long thought to be mainly nocturnal and arboreal. It is one of the best climbers in the cat family: its hind legs are longer than its front legs, its forearm bones are unfused for extra twisting, and captive animals climb down trunks head first and hang from branches by their hind feet and tail alone. Very little is known about its life in the wild because it is so rarely seen (Wikipedia, general species account).
Quick answers
- What habitat does the Mainland Clouded Leopard live in?
- Dense primary forest, from the Himalayan foothills through Southeast Asia
- Where is the Mainland Clouded Leopard found?
- Himalayan foothills, mainland Southeast Asia and southern China
- How big is the Mainland Clouded Leopard?
- Head and body 68.6–108cm; tail 61–91cm