Int’l Clouded Leopard Day: The tiny cat that makes you paws
Among a slew of surprising discoveries, one notable find was that of the clouded leopard, a feline listed as vulnerable by the International Union of Conservation for Nature
In 2016, UK-based The Guardian reported on the startling findings made by conservationists surveying a remote portion in the Chittagong Hills Tract region.
Among a slew of surprising discoveries, one notable find was that of the clouded leopard, a feline listed as vulnerable by the International Union of Conservation for Nature.
"Despite the tremendous challenges [facing] the natural heritage of Bangladesh – all hope is not lost yet," Shahriar Caesar Rahman, the co-founder of the new group, Creative Conservation Alliance (CCA), declared before The Guardian at the time.
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While the find was an exciting one, rumours of its sightings had persisted in most places the cat had ever called home.
The creature is also notoriously elusive.
An earlier TBS report quoted Dr Suprio Chakma, an assistant professor of Zoology at Rangamati Science and Technology University, as saying, "This secretive cat is as widespread as our jungle cat and fishing cat.''
In fact, once the leopard was even considered extinct in the country.
Earlier in Bangladesh, clouded leopards were found in the hills of Sherpur, Netrokona, Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. But over the years, deforestation, development projects and poaching have led to their numbers falling rapidly.
Its rediscovery, happened quite a few times.
In 2009, the species was found in Rangmati. Even at that time, Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh Chief Executive Professor Md Anwarul Islam had said the animal was thought to extinct in the country after years of habitat loss and decline of prey species.
Then in 2013, the leopard was sighted once again. This time it was spotted in Srimangal. A kitten, bit by a dog, was rescued and brought up in a local menagerie.
Like the 2016 discovery, only last year, the leopard made their presence known in Cumilla.
Three spotted, yellow-coated kittens were caught from a paddy field in the district.
They were initially mistaken for being leopards, but after some inspection it was discovered that they were actually the leopard cat (chitabiral).
The Clouded Leopard is a solitary, nocturnal and arboreal animal. The species is found in almost all of South and Southeast Asian countries.
With renewed conservation, there may yet be hope for this majestic animal.
