Picture of Clouded Leopard
A picture of Clouded Leopard explains clearly the name of these animals. The Clouded Leopard has distinct clouds on the coat – dark spots edged in black against a pale yellow or brown background. On the limbs and underbelly, these animals have large black spots; on the back of the neck, there are two black bars. Despite the name of the species, it’s not closely related to the leopard.
If you see a picture of Clouded Leopard taken in a zoo, you’ll make sure that these cats are not very large, but in their natural habitats, they are dangerous hunters able to kill a deer and a pig. The body length of the Clouded Leopard is 2 to 3 feet; the tail is about 3 feet long. The weight of an average Clouded Leopard is about 30 to 50 lbs.
These cats belong to the leap group of wild cats. It means that the Clouded Leopards are good climbers with strong paws and sharp claws, able to jump at the prey from a tree. In a picture of the Clouded Leopard, you can see that these creatures can even hang upside down on their claws. These cats have very short, but powerful legs with rotating rear ankles. It allows them to climb down head first, like squirrels do. The tail of these animals is very long compared to the body length to assist in balancing on the branches. To locate the prey, the Clouded Leopard uses its sharp eyesight. The typical prey for the Clouded Leopard includes various birds, fish, monkeys, pigs, deer, and sometimes domestic cattle and chickens. Captive Clouded Leopards are also fed eggs and vegetation.
The Clouded Leopard inhabits mountainous tropical and subtropical forests and mangrove swamps of southern China, northeast India, and other countries in Southeast Asia. Probably, the species is extinct from Taiwan. The population of the Clouded Leopard is extinct from the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The main threats to the population of these small cats are poaching, deforestation, and habitat destruction. Very little is known about the lifestyle and habits of the Clouded Leopard in the wild. It’s next to impossible to take a picture of a Clouded Leopard in its natural habitat.
