The Mizoram governor drew attention to the critical challenges in wildlife conservation during a function to observe International Clouded Leopard Day recently.
About Clouded Leopard:
It is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China.
There are two species of clouded leopards: the clouded leopard(Neofelis nebulosa) and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi).
Habitat and Distribution:
It is found across Southeast Asia and the Himalayas in the following countries: southern China, Bhutan, Nepal, northeast India, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, and Bangladesh.
Throughout its range, the clouded leopard spends most of its time in the tropical evergreen rainforests but can also be found in dry tropical forests and mangrove swamps.
It has been found at relatively high altitudes in the Himalayas.
In India, it is found in Sikkim, northern West Bengal, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
It is the State animal of Meghalaya.
Features:
It is a medium-sized cat, 60 to 110 cm long and weighing between 11 and 20kg.
It is named after the distinctive 'clouds' on its coat - ellipses partially edged in black, with the insides a darker colour than the background colour of the pelt.
The fur base is a pale yellow to rich brown, making the darker cloud-like markings look even more distinctive.
It has a stocky build and, proportionately, the longest canine teeth of any living feline.
It has relatively short legs and broad paws, excelling at climbing trees and creeping through thick forests.
It can climb while hanging upside-down under branches and descend tree trunks head-first.
It is a solitary animal.
Conservation status: Both species are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ under the IUCN Red List.
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