Have you ever seen a clouded leopard? They are reclusive and endangered. So The Lowry Park Zoo was thrilled when a baby clouded leopard became their newest addition, this March, 2015.

photo Lowry Park Zoo

The zoo is in Tampa, Florida but the clouded leopard is native to the forests and rainforests of Southeast Asia, from the Himalayan foothills in Nepal and India to Myanmar, Bhutan, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Indochina, and in China south of the Yangtze River. Some are found in the mixed-evergreen forests of the northeastern and southeastern parts of Bangladesh.

photo Lowry Park Zoo

photo Feline Conservation Center, Rosamond, CA

The young are blind and helpless, much like the young of many other cats, and weigh from 4.9 – 9.9 oz (140 to 280 g). Young baby clouded leopards can see within about 10 days of birth, are active within five weeks, and are fully weaned at around three months of age. The kittens’ have spots that are “solid” (completely dark) rather than the dark rings adults develop. They attain the adult coat pattern at around six months, and probably become independent after around 10 months. Females are able to bear one litter each year. The mother is believed to hide her kittens in dense vegetation while she goes to hunt, though little concrete evidence supports this theory, since their lifestyle is so secretive.

photo The Feline Conservation Center, Rosamond, CA

photo The Lowry Park Zoo

Their irises are usually either greyish-green or brownish-yellow in color. Their legs are short and stout, with broad paws. They have rather short limbs compared to the other big cats, but their hind limbs are longer than their front limbs to allow for increased jumping and leaping capabilities.
In captivity, they have an average lifespan of 11 years. One individual has lived to be almost 17 years.