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Post by sebbe67 on Dec 25, 2004 14:31:16 GMT
I wonder if the Taiwan subspecies of the clouded leopard is extinct there is siad on some websites that the subspecies is extinct in the wild other say that a few remain and some say it is total extinct.
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Post by Melly on Dec 25, 2004 14:59:15 GMT
The status of the Formosan clauded leopard is uncertain. Some reports say there is still a population other reports say it is extinct.
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Post by another specialist on May 23, 2005 21:49:22 GMT
(Neofelis nebulosa brachyurus) latin name of this subspecies
the taiwan clouded leopard is generally regarded as extinct. All the skins from taiwan found in a recent survey were 60 yrs or older.
the newer skins were all smuggled in from mainland china. though there are rumoured sightings as recently as the 1960's, most authorities feel that the subspecies is now extinct in taiwan.
The above is from kingdom of might = the world's big cats by tom brakefield......
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Post by another specialist on May 23, 2005 21:50:50 GMT
Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa and Wildlife Trade in Taiwan Kristin Nowell We are in the first stages of the population viability analysis -- trying to determine if there even is a population. I am following Dr. Alan Rabinowitz's enquiry into the status of the clouded leopard, which was done in September, 1986, by interviewing aboriginal hunters. I think this is the best way to approach the problem, rather than to just start hunting in the woods. It is the older hunters in particular that are useful, since most sightings date from 30-40 years ago. Jackets of clouded leopard fur are really the best evidence we have of the Formosan clouded leopard. As of yet we do not know of any alive in captivity anywhere in the world. Hunters' hats are also adorned with clouded leopard canines and wild boar tusks. This is the best current piece of evidence we have. It is very difficult to do research, especially with aboriginal hunters, because hunting in Taiwan has been illegal for the past 20 years. However, since game shops, which sell game meat and skins and are operated by the Chinese, are not illegal, hunting has been rampant and quite heavy. A picture was taken by a national park official last year at a game shop in a region of Taiwan that is a major distribution point, especially for the clouded leopard's supposed main prey, muntjac, Formosan macaque, and wild boar. However, they are not being very cooperative in talking to me because the animals were trapped in a national park. In the picture, a man is showing the traditional kind of trap used. However, now they tend to use saturation trapping, setting up hundreds of these iron leghold traps. So, the story is that the trapped muntjac are being eaten, maybe by a cat. They set out a trap, they caught the leopard, and then they shot it. But that is all I know, and I cannot substantiate it. Further identification problems are compounded by the number of illegal skins that are smuggled in, primarily from mainland China. There is a taxidermy shop in Taipei, located right by the two major universities. There is a new wildlife conservation law that has been passed making illegal all Appendix I CITES species. Taiwan cannot be a party to CITES because of its particular political situation. It is not a member of the United Nations, and, therefore, it can't be a formal party to CITES. However, since import tariffs have always been high, and quarantine has always been lengthy, smuggling or bringing in things on small boats has pretty much been the norm for as long as I can tell. We have been basing subspecies identification on appearance. So far they have all come from mainland China, perhaps from different areas. I would just like to give you a quick overview of the scope of the wildlife trade in Taiwan. The Formosan sika deer Cervus nippon spp went extinct in the wild in the early part of this century. It has been reintroduced into a small national park in the south. It seems to be doing pretty well because of the high profile of the reintroduction project, and the absence of poaching in the park itself. It went extinct because of the purported medicinal value of its body parts. There is heavy game meat hunting of wild boar, muntjac, flying squirrel, and just about anything else they can catch. There is a large amount of trade for shops. There is also a major pet novelty trade, mostly in imported species. They are imported in quite large numbers, I think because of the heavy mortality within the pet shops due to the conditions. There is a very heavy trade in southeast Asian primates, especially young orangutans. They are not bred in captivity. These are all brought in illegally, probably in containers, or in small fishing boats from Sumatra or Borneo. There is actually a surplus. Animals that are not sold stay in the same pet shop for months. They become quite mentally disturbed. The majority of the skin trade comes from mainland China. In a taxidermist's shop, one can find Asian golden cat skins, serval skins, and leopard skins. Many people bring the taxidermist skins. He cures them and gives them back. They are not for sale, and he will not tell me who his customers are. However, I am trying to convince the government to send a taxidermist student into his shop, because the man keeps a huge pile of business cards in his desk. With this new wildlife conservation law, these people are subject to prosecution. They were supposed to register all their skins with the government by the end of the year. The taxidermist claims all the skins come from mainland China. I somewhat doubt my taxidermist's credentials, even though he has 40 years experience in dealing with exotic species and was once an instructor at National Thailand University. He claimed that one cat, which some people here have concluded is the Amur leopard, is a hybrid between a snow leopard and a leopard. It has a very long tail and heavy white underfur. He called another an Asiatic Lion. He also has snow leopard. Last month he accepted snow leopard skins. This is just one shop in Taipei. There are others, especially in the center of Taiwan. I have been most concerned with trying to identify two tigers which he is adamant are South China tigers. In summary, as far as the Formosan clouded leopard goes, it has got a large amount of protected habitat. The most recent sighting was 1983, by a biologist. I cannot confirm it because he does not have the skin. However, it was at an altitude considered unusually high, given its historic distribution of 2,500 meters. It was a juvenile caught in a hunter's snare. This would be good, because most of the protected land in Taiwan is very high mountain habitat. Some studies have shown that the prey base has shifted up as encroaching human development is pushing them up the mountains. So, if the clouded leopard has been able to adapt, then that would be good. I am trying to penetrate the illegal trade network through my network of friends. I think that next year, it may be possible to identify some of the more major players and possibly then prosecute them under this new law. lynx.uio.no/catfolk/cnissues/cn12-02n.htm |
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Post by Melanie on May 24, 2005 6:50:37 GMT
Ecology and Conservation of the Formosan Clouded Leopard in Southern Taiwan By Po-Jen Chiang Clouded leopard, Neofelis nebulosa Little is known about the clouded leopard and the situation of the Formosan subspecies is even worse than some the endangered tiger subspecies. This project was initiated to survey the current Formosan clouded leopard population status and to understand the distribution and ecology of its prey and other sympatric carnivores, which are also poorly studied, for better conservation and management. Our study area is about the size of 95,000 hectares. Of all the reserves and protected areas in Taiwan, it consists of the largest low land primary rain forest that is crucial for clouded leopard survival. Camera traps and hair snares are the two major techniques applied. About 60 cameras were used on over 300 different camera trap sites. They are either trail sets for unbiased data collection on various species occurrence frequencies or special sets for clouded leopard survey. Special sets include tree, log or cave sets, and cameras with hair snares, call boxes, cat lures or live chicken. 230 hair snare stations were set up gradually in various transects and lures were refreshed during each check. After 33 months of field work in remote mountains, we still don’t have any positive sign of Formosan clouded leopard existence. Hair snares did not work well because of frequent heavy rains and typhoons, hotness, and gnawing by rodents and herbivores. Similar camera trapping surveys in Malaysia Peninsula and Thailand got 8 and 10 clouded leopard pictures out of 6,787 and 1,886 camera trap-days respectively. While our effort of over 10,000 camera trap-days had none. However, clouded leopards in Taiwan were sighted on trees more often. In addition, our style of camera traps detects smaller area and we also sample poor habitats to study habitat preferences. Nevertheless, the population status of clouded leopards in the study area is still worrying. Abundant prey is crucial to the survival of big cats. Results of comparing prey occurrence frequencies with study in Thailand showed that the study area provide comparably or even more abundant prey, especially areas below 1,200m. However, immoderate human disturbance and hunting activities greatly reduce prey availability in areas close to tribal villages. Although the core area provides sufficient prey for clouded leopards, the space is far beyond the minimum requirement and will be the most critical factor for the survival of Formosan clouded leopards. Although no confirmed occurrence evidence of clouded leopards is found, we have accumulated lots of data on the prey and other sympatric carnivores. Many of these are poorly known and seldom studied even in the world, for example, the yellow-throated marten. Analyzing animal occurrence frequencies derived from camera trapping data, we will obtain baseline information on activity patterns and habitat uses. In addition, distribution models will also be established using GIS for the prey species and other sympatric carnivores. We hope that this information will help the conservation of Formosan clouded leopards and other wildlife as well. www.fishwild.vt.edu/newsletter%2012-2003/newsletter_12_2003_pg8.htmFormosan clouded leopard Profile Scientific name: Neofelis nebulosa brachyurus Features: The Formosan clouded leopard has a long body, a long tail, four short legs, and weighs approximately 16-23kg. Their head and trunk are about 61-150cm long, with the trunk accounting for 55-90cm of that length, and their tail is 55-90cm long with 11-14 black ringed markings. The Formosan clouded leopard has well-developed canine teeth, tawny bodies, and short, round ears that are black in back with some grayish white spots in the center. They have several black stripes running from their forehead to their shoulder, several large cloud-like black spots on the sides of their neck and body, and irregularly shaped dark brown markings on their white bellies and four limbs. They have four claws on each of their large paws that are usually protected inside muscular sheaths and only extended when pouncing upon a victim. Formosan clouded leopards derive their name from their resemblance to tigers and leopards and the irregular-shaped cloud-like markings on their chest. Behavior: The Formosan clouded leopard is a large, carnivorous feline that sometimes preys upon medium- and small-sized animals living in trees, such as monkeys, squirrels, and birds, and other times, preys upon larger animals, such as muntjacs or deer. For larger prey, the leopard will often hide in a tree and then ambush their prey as it passes by below, killing it with a bite to the neck. A nocturnal, solitary, and secretive animal, the Formosan clouded leopard prefers dense, broad-leaved virgin forests and usually hunts for its food in the mornings and evenings. With their powerful claws and long tails to help them keep balance, they are very good tree climbers and are well-designed for swift movement. Habitat: The Formosan clouded leopard is an endemic subspecies to Taiwan. They can be found in virgin forests above 1000m in elevation throughout the island, though they are more common in the eastern and southern regions than in the north. www.gio.gov.tw/info/ecology/English/bow_e/milk_e/milk_11_e.htm |
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Post by another specialist on Aug 5, 2005 7:43:24 GMT
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Post by sebbe67 on Aug 20, 2005 20:25:05 GMT
exsists in captivity
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Post by another specialist on Mar 5, 2007 15:02:19 GMT
have you got any references / sources for the above? |
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Post by Melanie on Mar 5, 2007 18:17:38 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Mar 5, 2007 18:43:01 GMT
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Post by sebbe67 on Mar 5, 2007 19:33:42 GMT
Most recent taxonomy work carried out on the clouded leopard suggest that there is two seperate species, one on the Asian mainland and the other in Malaysia/Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra).
Havent seen anything mentioned about the Taiwan race in this recent papper, suggesting it has been included with the one on occuring on the Asian mainland.
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Post by another specialist on Mar 5, 2007 21:38:13 GMT
Subspecies There are four known subspecies of the clouded leopard: Neofelis nebulosa nebulosa - southern China and Indochina. Has lightest, brightest coat, with longest blotches. Neofelis nebulosa brachyurus - Taiwan; extinct. Neofelis nebulosa macrosceloides - Nepal; darker greyer color with larger blotches. Neofelis nebulosa diardi - Maylay penninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Darker and less yellow, smaller rosette like blotches. www.lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=46 |
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Post by Bhagatí on Mar 6, 2007 23:27:15 GMT
This subspecies of clouded leopard from Taiwan (Formosa) have a many seriously photos. And links too. I possible cat specialist, which in it live. This I know. Have much materials and facts. Very like with this cat I helped on this pages.  |
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Post by Bhagatí on Mar 7, 2007 0:01:30 GMT
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Post by Bhagatí on Mar 8, 2007 20:58:03 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Mar 13, 2007 14:54:43 GMT
have you got any references / sources for the above? The source is stated here extinctanimals.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=wildextinctions&action=display&thread=1117215135Sent email to this zoo as I believe that they aren't the formosan subspecies and this is the answer i got from them - sika@zoo.gov.tw francisco godino Can you confirm that you have at you zoo Formosan clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa brachyurus) or do the individuals you have belong to another subspecies? We do have one pair clouded leopard but could not identify what subspecies they belong to. |
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Post by another specialist on Mar 13, 2007 14:59:13 GMT
So is there any other zoos supposedly have this subspecies in there collection?
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Post by sebbe67 on Mar 13, 2007 19:10:49 GMT
So is there any other zoos supposedly have this subspecies in there collection? Several Taiwense zoos which state they have pure Taiwan clouded leopards in their collections. |
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Post by another specialist on Mar 13, 2007 22:10:58 GMT
The one i mentioned stated it had Taiwan clouded leopards in their collections but turns out that they can't say for true that they are.
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Post by another specialist on Mar 13, 2007 22:16:34 GMT
Thank you for this information. It is good to know that this species has survived. By the way here is an informaton page from the Taipei Zoo which is showing a Clouded leopard. www.zoo.gov.tw/english/formosan.shtml |
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