Wildlifeof Bhutan
Mainland Clouded Leopard
Cats
Photo: Ian Dugdale · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Neofelis nebulosa
Basic stats
Diet
Small to medium mammals and birds
Habitat
Dense forest from the Himalayan foothills
Range
Himalayan foothills of Nepal, Bhutan and India to Southeast Asia and southern China
Size
Head and body 68.6–108cm; tail 61–91cm
Weight
11.5–23kg
The clouded leopard is a wild cat with large dusky-grey blotches, spots and stripes on a dark grey or ochre coat. Black spots mark the head, the ears are black and the irises are brownish-yellow to grey-green. Its 61 to 91cm tail helps it balance in trees, and it can climb down vertical trunks head first (Wikipedia, general species account).
It inhabits dense forests from the Himalayan foothills through north-east India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia. Early accounts describe a rare, secretive, tree-living and nocturnal animal of dense primary forest, resting in trees by day and hunting on the forest floor at night. In Manas National Park, across the Bhutan–India border, 16 individuals were recorded in a 2010–2011 survey.
Quick answers
- What does the Mainland Clouded Leopard eat?
- Small to medium mammals and birds
- What habitat does the Mainland Clouded Leopard live in?
- Dense forest from the Himalayan foothills
- Where is the Mainland Clouded Leopard found?
- Himalayan foothills of Nepal, Bhutan and India to Southeast Asia and southern China
- How big is the Mainland Clouded Leopard?
- Head and body 68.6–108cm; tail 61–91cm
- How much does the Mainland Clouded Leopard weigh?
- 11.5–23kg