AI overview
The clouded leopard is a medium-sized wild cat found in Southeast Asia that is known for its distinctive spotted coat pattern and long canine teeth. These elusive forest dwellers are important predators in their ecosystems, but they face threats from habitat loss and are considered vulnerable to extinction.
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Wikidata facts
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- P105
- species
- P141
- Vulnerable
- P7603
- Appendix I of CITES
- P2974
- jungle
Article
The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), also called mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat that has large dusky-grey blotches and irregular spots and stripes reminiscent of clouds. Its head-and-body length ranges from 68.6 to 108 cm (27.0 to 42.5 in) with a 61 to 91 cm (24 to 36 in) long tail, which it uses for balancing when moving in trees.
The clouded leopard was first described in 1821 on the basis of a skin of an individual from China. It is the sister taxon to other pantherine cats, having genetically diverged 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago. It inhabits dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It can climb down vertical tree trunks head first, rests in trees during the day and hunts by night on the forest floor.