TABLE OF CONTENTS - National Zoo

dangerous because of aggression, and males will often injure or even kill females.
The females bear two to four young, which reach independence in under one year.
Conservation Status: The clouded leopard is a classic example of a species that is
known to be rare and whose numbers, in spite of the ban on trade, are dwindling
because in many parts of its range, the forests continue to be destroyed. Clear
cutting of forests for use as agricultural lands is its primary threat, as the clouded
leopard requires large tracts of forest for hunting. It has been poisoned as well,
either as a livestock predator or for its coat, which is worth over $2,000 in the black
market. Because it is extremely difficult to breed in captivity, the Conservation &
Research Center is studying ways of using assisted reproduction (artificial
insemination and in vitro fertilization) to breed clouded leopards.
Sources: Clouded Leopard Species Survival Plan Fact Sheet. 2/91. SSP Coordinator:
John Lewis - John Ball Zoological Gardens - 1300 W. Fulton Street - Grand Rapids, MI
49504.
Leyhausen, Paul. “Clouded leopard.” Grzimek’s Encyclopedia of Mammals. New
York: McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1990. Volume IV, pages 3-6.
Nowak, Ronald M. and John L. Paradiso. Walker’s Mammals of the World. 4th
edition, Volume II. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983. Page
1083.
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