International Clouded Leopard Day

1. Clouded Leopards are a wild cat that is found living in the forests and rainforests of South East Asia.

2. Clouded leopards are not a type of leopard even though they have the word leopard in their name. They are a separate species of wild cat.

3. There are two species, the Mainland Clouded Leopard, found in mainland Southeast Asia and southern China, and the Sundra Clouded Leopard found in Borneo and Sumatra.

4. Clouded Leopards get their name from the amazing pattern they have which looks like clouds! 

5. They are a medium sized cat that can grow to just over 1 metre in length, not including their long tail which is almost another metre long. 

6. Clouded Leopards have canine teeth measuring about 5cm long, which is big considering how small they are. In fact they have the longest canine teeth relative to body size of any living cat, quite like saber-toothed cats used to have. They can also open their mouth incredibly wide!

7. Clouded Leopards also have the longest tail relative to their body size of any cat species! This really helps them balance when walking on the high tree branches in the forest canopy where they spend lots of time.

8. Clouded Leopards are incredibly good climbers. They have large paws and flexible ankle joints that let them climb down trees headfirst or hang upside down from branches like a monkey!

9. Clouded Leopards are nocturnal hunters and like to prey on deer, wild boar and primates, such as gibbons. They spend a lot of time up in the tree canopy and can catch prey up there, but the majority of their hunting takes place on the ground. Although adult Clouded Leopards are apex predators (meaning they don’t have predators wanting to eat them!), they are sometimes killed by larger competing carnivores such as tigers and leopards. 

10. Clouded Leopards are solitary cats and do not live with other Clouded Leopards. Females look after their cubs on their own, and the cubs stay for about ten months before leaving to live on their own. To communicate they cannot roar but they also cannot purr! Instead they make sounds such as growling, hissing and chuffing.