The Clouded Leopard Project is dedicated to the conservation of clouded leopards and the habitat upon which they depend by supporting field research, implementing education initiatives in range countries, and bringing global awareness to clouded leopard conservation issues. 

The Clouded Leopard Project site, the official website of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s Clouded Leopard Species Survival Plan®,  is a great way learn about this amazing, endangered cat and help spread the word about its conservation needs. 

A word from the Clouded leopard Project

Associated with the permanent loss of tropical rainforest these habitats become more and more fragmented leading to rampant ecological changes which place most top carnivores under heavy pressure. For the effective conservation and protection of such keystone species elaborated management plans are a prerequisite. However, for many carnivores, basic information on life history parameters and population ecology is lacking.

The least understood larger cat is the clouded leopards, Neofelis nebulosa, due to their partly nocturnal and far-ranging behavior as well as their occurrence in low densities in dense habitats and remote areas. These ecological traits make the censuring and monitoring of the species extremely difficult. Various different methods have been used to determine the status of top carnivore populations in rainforest habitats, most of which are costly. In this study we applied a rigorous track classification method combined with analysis of photographs to estimate the abundance and density of clouded leopards in Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia. Additionally we transferred our results from Tabin Wildlife Reserve to the landscape level, taking into account the conservation value of all reserves, be they totally protected or commercial forest reserves, in Sabah by their size and presence of clouded leopards.

Secondly we place emphasis on the phylogenetic analysis of clouded leopards using molecular scatology as well as skin samples from various museum specimens. Further more we examined the genetic diversity within the European zoo population of clouded leopards. The aim of this study is to enhance the captive breeding of clouded leopards in Europe. Information on the origin of the zoo animals is of upper importance for future reintroduction programs.

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