Although not the rarest wild cat of the Thai jungles, the Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is perhaps the one nature lovers would most like to see. Why? Probably because of its sheer beauty, it is indeed a sight to behold and it get its name from its uniquely beautiful coat with its cloud like spots. These strangely shaped spots provide excellent camouflage in the dappled light of its forest habitat.
Clouded leopards, interestingly, are most closely related to the mountain dwelling snow leopards and are in the same subfamily, Pantherinae, as tigers, lions and true leopard species. Making them the smallest of the “big cats”.
When the flash does not fire you see just how good their camoflague is.
Few people have seen a clouded leopard in the wild but the possibility is always there and the lucky few have seen them walking on roads or forest pathways inside a number of Thai national parks but these sightings are rare. In Thailand they have been captured and collared in one of Thailand’s wildlife sanctuaries, in a study that gave credence to the theory that cloudeds use one hunting tactic that saw them remain inactive for long periods on tree limbs waiting for prey to pass below on which they would drop upon from above.
Despite their small size, cloudeds can take down medium sized ungulates with this method. However, it is believed they generally hunt on the ground and are thought to eat a variety of birds, squirrels, monkeys, and wild pigs.
The clouded leopard has an incredible advantage when it comes to hunting styles; its ankles can rotate backward enabling it to climb down a tree headfirst, as well as climb upside down, and even hang from its back feet, leaving the front paws free to capture prey. And then there’s that amazing tail, the longest, in relation to body size, of any cat's tail, which gives the clouded leopard amazing balance when climbing and maneuvering in trees and along their branches.
As if that is not enough to make this a truly spectacular hunter the clouded leopard can also open its jaws wider than any other cat. A clouded’s amazing canines are equal in size to those of a tiger, even though our local Indochinese tiger is nearly ten times larger in overall body size.
A truly spectacular wild cat of Thailand’s famed forests.
Our project with the DNP to attempt to photograph such amazing cryptic mammals as the clouded leopard began 6 years ago and during that time we have encountered some beautiful and rare creatures but none fill me with satisfaction so much as on the rare occasions when we photograph a wild cat, irrespective of species. All of the wild cats are cryptic - they are intelligent and wily creatures who are incredibly aware of their surroundings and their place as a master in the their own habitat.
They show no fear, nor inquisitiveness around the cameras surprisingly. They are intimately aware of their surroundings and seem to know that the inanimate camera trap is no threat to their standing and somewhat inconsequential to their purpose. Like all cats if we anthropomorphise them we see the characteristics of aloofness and indifference.
For the last 4 years we have been learning, through the camera traps, the preferences and probable locations of some of these animals, in particular the ranges of the various cats, in the high valleys and peaks that surround Kaeng Krachan National Park’s Mae Naam Phet Valley. And we have noticed something new in that we have often noted that the resident male on the eastern section of the main valley has been looking old and not at his best this last, and now we have a new male entering his territory. What will come of this, if anything, we have no idea. We have not seen a female in this area yet.
And of our successes, in this geographical area, the captures of cloudeds really have been one of the highlights. They are still rare captures as their territories are hard work for we humans to climb especially with heavy camera equipment but each one gives us further insight into how to improve our attempts to make the next capture a better one, to better select camera locations, improve sets, backgrounds, image technical quality and ultimately improve our chances of creating an image rather than a photograph. And our latest capture showing a male clouded leopard in the rainy season cloud filled forests of Kaeng Krachan National Park pays testament to the time and effort put into this by all concerned.
So whats next? Our next ambition is for an image of a clouded in the tree tops it hunts in. Probable? Maybe not. Possible? Of course.
The eastern valley resident male
We get mostly butt shots - maybe the jokes on us, but it allows us to sex the cats
The support of the DNP Headquarters, Park Chief Maana Phermpoon and the knowledge of Unit Head Suthat Sappdu have been critical in this ongoing project and we cannot thank them enough for their support and trust.
Paul Thompson is a member of the Thailand Wildlife Collective - a group of photographers who are creating a “conservation archive” of high quality wildlife images to be used by Thai conservation organizations to help promote conservation efforts and increase awareness of Thailand’s bio-diversity. Paul specialises in cryptic mammal photography using camera traps with Ian Edwardes. The collective also includes specialists Ton Smits (herptofauna) and Geoff Potter (birds) . All the pictures in this article are of wild animals photographed in their natural habitat.