THE CLOUDED LEOPARD 



{Felis nebulosa) 



IT is a pity that this remarkable animal has not a special name of 

 its own, for its alternative title of Clouded Tiger is as unfortunate as 

 that given above, the beast being neither Leopard nor Tiger, but as 

 distinct from both of these as are the Ounce, Jaguar, or Puma. Indeed 

 it differs markedly from all the other great Cats in its shape, which is 

 long and low, the legs being unusually short for the size of the animal. 

 The tail is usually very long, and the head is also of an elongated 

 shape, while, owing to the eyes being dark brown, the expression con- 

 trasts strikingly with the pale-eyed savagery of the ordinary Leopard. 

 Yet the creature is remarkably well armed, its canine teeth being longer 

 in proportion than those of any other living Cat. The closeness of the 

 coat, and the distribution of the markings in great patches bordered with 

 a darker tint, make the general effect of the colour much like that of 

 the great Pythons found in the same countries, and this pattern no doubt 

 in both cases tends to conceal the creatures by breaking up the outline. 



The colour-variation is simply in tone, some specimens being redder 

 and others greyer ; but there is a good deal of difference in size. The 

 first specimen I ever saw, a splendid male acquired years ago by the 

 Calcutta Zoological Garden, was quite as big as any ordinary Leopard, 

 but generally this Cat is only the size of a small-sized individual of that 

 species, and so is the smallest of the six species distinguished as 

 " Great Cats." 



It inhabits South-Eastern Asia, ranging from Assam down the 

 Malay Peninsula and islands into Sumatra, and in another direction 

 to Formosa, in which island it does not possess so long a tail as it does 

 elsewhere. It is always a forest animal, being a remarkably good 

 climber, and spending much of its time in the trees, where it is wont 

 to rest lying in the boughs, whence its Malay name of A rimau-dahan 



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