Clouded leopard

About Clouded leopard: 

 

• It is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China.
• The clouded leopard is categorised into two species: the mainland clouded leopard distributed from central Nepal to peninsular Malaysia, and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) native to Borneo and Sumatra.
• The mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is often likened to the Ice Age sabretooth because it has the largest canines in proportion to its skull size among all cat species.
• It also has rotating rear ankles that enable it to climb down head first from trees, unlike the other felines.
• They seemed to go wherever they pleased without worrying about other predators, primarily because of their ability to climb trees, even hang upside down from large branches.
• It most often inhabits primary evergreen tropical forests and also lives in secondary forests, logged forests, dry tropical forests, grassland, mangrove swamp, scrubland, and coastal hardwood forest.
• In India, it is found in Sikkim, northern West Bengal, Meghalaya subtropical forests, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
• It is the State animal of Meghalaya.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Vulnerable

 

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Q1) What are Evergreen tropical forests?

Evergreen tropical forests, also known as tropical rainforests, are dense, lush, and biodiverse forest ecosystems found in the tropical regions near the equator. They are characterized by their high annual rainfall, high humidity, and consistent temperatures throughout the year.

Source: With nimble feet, clouded leopards play hide-and-seek in the forests