The future of the clouded leopard looks a little less cloudy — salon.com

Two years ago, after an intense 13-year quest, scientists concluded that the Formosan clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa brachyura) had gone extinct in Taiwan. But a new paper by the same scientists contains an interesting revelation: The island nation’s ecology has improved so much since the leopards disappeared that they might once again thrive there. Clouded leopards disappeared from Taiwan decades ago, probably in the 1980s after intense overhunting for their furs followed by destruction of their forest habitat and declining populations of the cats’ prey species. Here’s the thing, though: According to the new paper, published November 20 in Oryx, Taiwan has done such a good job slowing deforestation and protecting its other wildlife over the past few decades that the island could once again support populations of leopards.

Read More