• Name: Named after the cloud-shaped pattern on its skin.
  • Fact: It is the State animal of Meghalaya.
  • Habitat: The clouded leopard is a wild cat found in the foothills of the Himalayas.
  • Distribution in Asia: Southeast Asia, China, India
  • Distribution in India: Sikkim, northern West Bengal, Meghalaya subtropical forests, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Conservation Efforts
    • IUCN: Vulnerable
    • Wildlife Protection Act: Schedule I
    • CITES: Appendix I
    • It has been added to India’s Recovery Programme for Critically Endangered Species
  • Threats: Deforestation, changing rainfall patterns, Human-animal conflict, Development projects

 

Source: The Hindu