CLOUDED LEOPARD. 



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THE CLOUDED LEOPARD (^ nat. size. 



THE CLOUDED LEOPARD (Felis nebulosa). 1 



With the clouded leopard, or, as it is often less appropriately called, the clouded 

 tiger, we revert to the cats of the Old World. This handsomely-coloured animal, 

 which may be regarded as the last of the very large cats, is a long-bodied and short- 

 legged species, usually provided with a very long tail, and of thoroughly arboreal 

 habits. The head is of a more elongated form than in any of the species yet 

 noticed ; while the pupil of the eye is oval, with its longer diameter vertical. The 

 ground-colour of the fur varies from greyish to yellowish-brown, passing into whitish 

 beneath ; the markings on the body taking the form of narrow vertical stripes and 

 blotches of black, which form large irregularly arranged patches. On the sides of 

 the face there are always two distinct black stripes, arising respectively from 

 behind the eye, and from above the angle of the mouth; of which the former 

 extends behind the ears to join the black markings of the back. The upper-parts 



1 Also known as F. macrocelis and F. diardi. 



