Also known as Moire Leopard, Lotus-leaf Leopard, Willow-Leaf Leopard, and Camphor Leopard, it belongs to theFelidae family of Carnivora order. Its Latin scientific name is Neofelis nebulosa, and English name is Clouded Leopard.
It is 15 to 20 kilograms in body weight and about 1 meter in body length, smaller than leopards. At the body side, several narrow black spots connect with each other and form large cloud-shaped spots; hence it gets the name Clouded Leopard. The body hair is grayish yellow, and eye periphery is black. Its nape has four black lines, with the middle two lines stopping at the shoulders, as the outer two lines stretching backwards to the tail. Its chest, belly and inner side of four limbs are hoar with dun stripes. The length of the tail is about 80 centimeters, with several black loops at the terminal.
As a nocturnal habit animal, it is in full swing in early morning and evening. It inhabits in upland broadleaf evergreen forests, with hair color close to and the color of the ambience, forming good conditions for hiding. Good at climbing trees, it moves on trees more dexterously than on the ground, with its tail as an effective balance organ. It also sleeps on trees. In estrous period, mating mostly takes place in evenings, and the gestation period lasts about 90 days. It litters from March to August every year, with 2 to 4 babies per fetus, and the suckling period is 5 months. It has a lifespan of up to 16 to 17 years.
Clouded Leopard isdistributed in all the provinces south of the Yangtze River and Shaanxi, Gansu and Taiwan province, with a small quantity. It has been listed inAppendix I ofInternational Trade Convention on Endangered Wild Animal and Plant Species.
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