Rare Bornean clouded leopards caught on camera

A Bornean clouded leopard and her two cubs were captured on camera strolling through a Malaysian forest reserve last week, a rare daytime sighting of the elusive animals in the wild.

Found only on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the big cat species is known to zoologists as Neofelis diardi, with just 700 estimated to live in a habitat shrunk by poaching and deforestation.

“Seeing it in daytime is nearly unheard of, and never with its young,” said Michael Gordon, who filmed the animals cross a road and walk into bush in Deramakot in Sabah on the island of Borneo, where camera traps first spotted the cats in 2010.

“The Sunda clouded leopard is difficult across most of its range, but the last 3 years I have been coming to Deramakot, I have seen it a quite a few times,” the photographer told Reuters, using an alternative name for the species.

The animal’s habitat has shrunk by a tenth each year over the last two decades, the World Wildlife Fund said, hit by poaching and deforestation for commercial purposes.

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Less than 800 Sunda clouded leopards in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Hunting activities and habitat destruction are reducing the number of the Sunda clouded leopards in Sabah to about 750.

A recent study published in the scientific journal, Oryx, has produced the first robust estimate of the number of Sunda clouded leopards remaining in Sabah where changes to the state’s forest landscape are believed to be affecting these threatened wild cats.

The study, led by researchers WildCRU (University of Oxford, UK), in collaboration with partners from the Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), Sabah Wildlife Department and Panthera, provided the first evidence that the population density of the Sunda clouded leopard is ‘negatively affected’ by hunting pressure and forest fragmentation.

It also showed that the time period since logging among selectively logged forests is positively associated with abundance.

This research was primarily funded by the Darwin Initiative, the Recanati-Kaplan Foundation, the Robertson Foundation and the Sime Darby Foundation.

“For six years, we conducted intensive camera-trap surveys of eight protected areas in Sabah,” said Dr Andrew Hearn from WildCRU, first author of the paper. “We used the cloud shaped markings on the coat of the animal and morphology to identify age and sex of individual animals and used sophisticated statistical methods to estimate their density in these different forest areas across Sabah.

“We also analysed our camera trap data to provide an estimate of poaching pressure for each study area,” added Hearn. “We found evidence of poaching activity in all forest areas with the lowest detection rates being in Danum and the highest in Kinabatangan. We finally estimated the size of the population of the Sunda clouded leopard to be around 750 individuals in Sabah.”

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Action plan to protect clouded leopard in Sabah to start in 2018

KOTA KINABALU: A 10-year action plan to protect the Sunda clouded leopard is likely to be implemented in 2018.

According to Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) director Dr Benoit Goossens at the closing of a three-day workshop on how to protect the species yesterday, they will be preparing the draft skeleton on the action plan and will be submitting the final draft to the Sabah Wildlife Department which will then be presented to the State Government for endorsement.

“We are likely to launch it by 2018,” he said.

He added that their objective is to ensure the clouded leopard continued to exist in years to come and are preserved.

At the same time, he also hoped that the public would become more aware of the clouded leopard, which is presently the least known cat in the world.

He added that Sabah has five wild cats, one of which was the clouded leopard.

“It is the biggest cat in Borneo,” he said.

Benoit also said that it was imperative that Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) continued on with their enforcement activities as the cats were vulnerable to illegal hunters and poachers.

Among the recommendations made during the workshop were the study on the impact of domestic dogs and cats that were brought in by hunters to the jungle, on the clouded leopards.

Continue reading at: Action plan to protect clouded leopard in Sabah to start in 2018

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Concerted efforts needed to save remaining Sunda clouded leopards in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: There must be more concerted efforts made as Sabah’s Sunda clouded leopard numbering between 700 and 800 in the wild, is now threatened by human activities.

In this context, Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) has taken the lead role supporting the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) and Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) in preserving the leopard.

YSD has been supporting the DGFC since April 2011 with a total commitment of RM3.96 million over a period of six years, to conduct research on three species- Proboscis monkey, Sunda clouded leopard and Bornean banteng.

In her speech, YSD Chief Executive Officer, Hajjah Yatela Zainal Abidin, said: “Yayasan Sime Darby is very supportive of these important environment conservation causes and since 2009, we have committed RM131 million under our Environment pillar to support not only initiatives but also crucial research in revitalizing as well as sustaining our ecosystems and the susceptible species that depend on them.”

YSD project chief, Muzdalifah Mohd Yasir who delivered Yatela’s speech at the Clouded Leopard International Workshop and Conference, here yesterday, said it is extending a support of RM1.46 million to support the cause and save the Sunda clouded leopard from extinction.

Muzdalifah also added that the Sunda clouded leopard research has had a very encouraging start.

“Four clouded leopards has been collared to assist in spatial research on the effects of multiple landscape features on their movement in fragmented and protected area within the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary,” she said. Meanwhile, SWD official, Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar said that all the protected Sunda clouded leopards can be tracked and observed frequently via satellite collars attached to the animals.

“On our part, we (Sabah Wildlife Department) also visit schools around the Kinabatangan area and we also do an exhibition field trip to create community awareness,” he said.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Concerted efforts needed to save remaining Sunda clouded leopards in Sabah

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Protecting Santubong’s clouded leopards

When reports of a sighting of three Sunda clouded leopards on Mount Santubong surfaced in April this year, the news was greeted with a mixture of excitement and anxiety – for good reason.

Very little is known about the clouded leopard in comparison with other big cats such as the lion and tiger as research on the species has been scant.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, in 2007, it  was estimated there were fewer than 10,000 clouded leopards in total effective population size, with real numbers suspected to be much lower.

The overall population of the clouded leopard is on a declining trend due to deforestation and illegal hunting, leading to a categorisation of Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List – meaning it is considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

Up until recently, it was classically considered as a single species until it was discovered there were, in fact, two species – Neofelis nebulosa which dwells on mainland South East Asia and Neofelis diardi, also known as the Sunda or Sundaland clouded leopard, which is endemic to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

Thus, it is nothing short of astonishing that Borneo’s top cat has been living incognito almost literally at our doorstep all this time, undetected by the hundreds of people who trek up and down Mt Santubong every year.

Moreover, the rare sighting of the highly endangered species underlines the fact that for all of our perceived familiarity with our beloved Mt Santunbong, it seems there is still much which remains to be discovered about the richness of its biodiversity and wildlife, a mere 45 minutes’ drive from the state capital.

National treasure

Familiarity often causes people to take things for granted, and unfortunately, this has been mostly the case for what most of us think we know about Santubong.

In fact, the Santubong peninsula is a treasure trove of natural and historical heritage and a priceless national treasure, Malaysian Nature Society Kuching Branch (MNSKB) chairman Anthony Sebastian told thesundaypost.

“For example, Santubong was thought to have no hornbills but it is now known to have four species living there. Generally speaking, there’s no reason why all eight species of hornbills in state cannot live there,” he said.

On the significance of Santubong, Anthony immediately zeroed in on the forests as the “highest value of Santubong.”

“First, there is the coastal mixed dipterocarp forest where the land or mountain comes at a steep angle straight down to the sea, as opposed to the rest of 90 per cent Sarawak where there is usually a flat stretch of sand or land between the mountain and the sea.

“This only exists on Santubong and Tanjung Datu. There used to be a small patch in Lambir, Miri, but it has been completely destroyed.

“As it grows right next to the sea, the forests have evolved over thousands of years to be more tolerant to saltwater and other aspects of the environment there like the dry and strong winds.

“There are also a whole lot of very unique and even endemic species to be found in these forests. This is one of Santubong’s highest values,” he said, adding that the forests were one of the most beautiful to experience.

The MNSKB chairman also highlighted the strategic importance of Santubong’s location right next to the biggest urban centre in the state.

“Its value and economics just shoot up because there’s so many things you can do with it, not just in terms of biodiversity conservation. It’s also about giving researchers and people the opportunities to see these forests.

“It’s about developing the forests with beautiful trails and picnic spots and more while preserving the forest. It has much higher economic value to us to be used because of its nearby location,” he said.

Another type of forest found in Santubong is the tropical heath forest or kerangas, which is also ecologically unique.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Protecting Santubong’s clouded leopards

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Clouded Leopards seen at Mount Santubong

KUCHING: Malaysian Nature Society has called for an immediate evaluation study of Mount Santubong as a home for Sarawak’s largest cat, the Bornean Clouded Leopard.

In February, there was a reported sighting of three Clouded Leopards on Mount Santubong.

The Bornean Clouded Leopard or ‘Neofelis diardi’ is an endemic medium-sized cat found only in Borneo, known locally as Entulu.

It is the smallest of the “large cats”, which is the general term used for the large members of the Felidae, like the tiger, lion and leopard. At over 2 metres in length, and weighing up to 25kg, this highly endangered cat in Sarawak is severely threatened by hunting and loss of its forest habitat.

In a press release issued yesterday, the Malaysia Nature Society Kuching Branch (MNSKB) chairman Anthony Sebastian said the sightings of three clouded leopards on Santubong, Sarawak’s newest gazetted National Park, is of great significance.

“MNSKB has been highlighting the biodiversity and historical importance of Gunung Santubong for many years. With more and more attention paid to Kuching’s iconic mountain, new discoveries are being made,” he said.

“Previously thought to have no hornbills, Santubong is now known to have four species of hornbills. Previously thought to have one otter species, we now know there are possibly three species of otters on Santubong,” he added.

This discovery of Clouded Leopards on Santubong, Sebastian pointed out, was yet another addition to Santubong’s increasingly rich wildlife, and not just another wild cat.

“This is Borneo’s top predator, and largest cat,” he emphasised.

The sightings of these Clouded Leopards were made by surveyors up on the mountain, doing preliminary work for the cable car project, revealed Sebastian.

Unlike hornbills, which are flying birds, and will only be affected by the disturbance caused by infrastructure development on the higher parts of the mountain, he said Clouded Leopards will be adversely affected by such projects.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Clouded Leopards seen at Mount Santubong

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First Sunda clouded leopard satellite collared in Sabah

KINABATANGAN: A wild Sunda clouded leopard was recently trapped and fitted with a satellite collar for the first time ever, as part of a collaborative project between the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), WildCRU and the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

This project, focusing on research and conservation of the Sunda clouded leopard and other carnivores in Sabah, is mainly funded by Sime Darby Foundation, with additional funding and support provided by Atlanta Zoo, Houston Zoo, Recanati-kaplan Foundation, Robertson Foundation, Point Defiance Zoo and Rufford Foundation.

“On Sunday 15 September, early morning, a male Sunda clouded leopard weighing 25 kgs, was caught in one of our traps set up along the Kinabatangan River, in the vicinity of DGFC,” explained Andrew Hearn from WildCRU and PhD student at Oxford University.

“Rarely seen, Sunda clouded leopards are amongst some of the most elusive and secretive of the world’s wild cats, and as such, remain one of the least understood.

“I have been studying these beautiful felids here in Sabah for over seven years, yet have seen them only a handful of times, and despite trying, have been unable to entice one into our traps, until now,” he said.

Hearn added the leopard was fitted with a satellite collar to provide crucial information on its movements in the Kinabatangan landscape.

“It should send a location every 20 minutes for about four to six months, enabling us to determine its home range and how it is able to move through the fragmented landscape.

“Incredibly, a few days later, we caught another individual, an old female, weighing only 9 kgs. She was too small and too old to collar, but we have been documenting her in the Kinabatangan since 2010, using camera traps,” said Hearn.

Wildlife veterinarian Dr Fernando Nájera said anesthetizing the first wild male Sunda clouded leopard had been one of the most rewarding experiences of his whole professional career.

“We have been waiting too long for this moment and having this astonishing animal under my care during the procedure was something that I will never forget.

“Malaysians are very lucky to have this unique species in their forests and we all need to keep on working together towards the conservation of Sunda clouded leopards, a truly Malay treasure,” said the PhD student from University Complutense of Madrid, Spain who is working on the project.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: First Sunda clouded leopard satellite collared in Sabah

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Clouded Leopard caught in Brunei's capital

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: A Bornean clouded leopard slipped into human habitat and remained on a tree for nearly 12 hours before local authorities safely captured the “cat” in the capital yesterday, Borneo Bulletin reported.

Curious onlookers gathered at the site to catch a glimpse of the endangered animal as photos of the cat resting on the tree went viral on social media networks.

The animal was first spotted around 6.30am.

It was learnt that the animal was found roaming around a facility by security guards on duty yesterday morning who at first thought it was just a stray cat. However, after realising the distinctive black and dark dusky-grey skin pattern and long bushy tail, the guards took action by calling the authorities.

Some 20 Police Rangers armed with tranquilisers and rescue equipment from the Reserve Unit of the Royal Brunei Police Force, with the help of a local wildlife rescue team set up nets to capture the “big cat”.

Just before sundown, the rescue teams managed to get a clear shot of the animal that was brought down with a tranquiliser dart.

However, it was clear that the “big cat” would not go down without a fight as it jumped from tree-to-tree before falling to the ground and getting entangled in the nets.

Rescue personnel seized the opportunity and caught the animal by its neck with a noose stick before safely locking the animal in a cage. The animal was kept for observation before it was released yesterday evening into its natural habitat. No injuries were reported.

Head of Wildlife Division, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Hj Ajamain Hj Sawal told the Bulletin that the clouded leopard was spotted around 6.30am in an urban area of the Brunei-Muara District, and the Wildlife Division helped to catch the endangered species using a net with cooperation from the police.

The wildlife chief said clouded leopards have been spotted roaming urban areas in the past, and there was an incident where a clouded leopard was hit by a car and died.

He said just like other animals such as monkeys, clouded leopards are encroaching into the urban area looking for food as their habitat is disturbed.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Clouded Leopard caught in Brunei's capital

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Clouded leopard's death in Sarawak to be investigated

KUCHING: Sarawak's Forestry Department has ordered "a full and urgent investigation" into the killing of a rare and highly endangered clouded leopard in Saratok last week.

The department, in expressing its regret over the shooting of the leopard, said initial reports indicated the leopard had inadvertently wandered into the compound of a government agency.

A member of the public, who was unaware of the animal's totally protected status, shot it dead.

"I am deeply saddened by this incident," said its director and and the state's Controller of Wildlife Datuk Ali Yusop in a statement.

He said the incident served to remind the department of the need to redouble its efforts to educate the public on the importance and necessity of protecting endangered flora and fauna.

"I wish to reiterate to the public not to approach, catch or harm any unknown and non-threatening wild animal they may come across."

Clouded leopards, the largest cats in Borneo, are also found in India, southern China, mainland Southeast Asia and Sumatra.

Despite their wide range, they are thinly dispersed and their total population worldwide is estimated to be fewer than 10,000.

They get their name from the distinctive "clouds" on its coat -- ellipses partially edged in black, with the insides a darker colour than the background.

The clouded leopard has remarkable tree climbing abilities for such a large predator, (1.5m from the nose to the tip of the tail), which allows it to hunt in the rainforest canopy as well as on the ground.

Continue reading at: Clouded leopard's death in Sarawak to be investigated

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Our Trip to Sarawak, Borneo

Woohoo – my daughter and her friend have had their article published in First News – the children’s newspaper all about their trip to Sarawak.

To be honest, their article surprised us a little – mostly because of their final summary of the event “it has been a life changing experience which we will never forget because Sarawak is where the adventure lives”. They wrote it together, by themselves and it was deeply moving to realise that of all the things we should remember to do in life – it’s to have experiences together with your children.

We all had a brilliant time together in Sarawak and it is a brilliant place to take children on an adventure holiday – especially teenagers who love the thought of trekking through the jungle – my daughter turned into the intrepid traveller – marching ahead through the rainforest jungle on the look out for all manner of exciting stuff.

Here is what they wrote, if anyone out there is looking for a different sort of adventure with their children then you should think about it:-

Sarawak, where adventure lives.

We have just come back from the most amazing adventure in Sarawak, which is in Malaysia, a part of the island of Borneo. Borneo is famous for it’s rainforest, which covers 427,500 square kilometers of the incredible island. This rainforest is 130 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforests in the world. It is a home to many different species, such as Asian Elephants, Bornean Clouded Leopards and many, many more. When we were in Sarawak, we were lucky enough to go trekking through the jungle, where we came across monkeys, lizards, frogs, snakes and even a giant squirrel. We have never experienced anything so amazing as being in the rainforest, allowing us to view animals in their natural habitat was simply mind-blowing.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Our Trip to Sarawak, Borneo
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Rare cat filmed up close in Borneo

One of the world's most rare and elusive cats, the Sunda clouded leopard of Malaysia, has been filmed up close.

A biologist holidaying in Malaysia has captured unique footage of a young female leopard resting in the forest.

Previously, this top predator has only been filmed fleetingly and at a distance, with the first wild footage to be made public captured in 2010.

The Sunda clouded leopard was only discovered to be a distinct species in 2007.

Experts say the footage is extraordinary, believing it to be the only close-up film of the cat in the wild.

Clouded leopards are the smallest of the so-called big cats, living in southeast Asia.

They are not true leopards, being more distantly related to leopards, snow leopards, lions and tigers than those big cats are to each other.

For many years, experts thought there was a single species of clouded leopard.

Then in 2007, Mr Andreas Wilting of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany and colleagues discovered there are actually two distinct species.

The clouded leopard of mainland Asia and Taiwan kept the traditional species name Neofelis nebulosa, and the Sunda clouded leopard living on Borneo and Sumatra, was named Neofelis diardi.

Both species are elusive, but the Sunda clouded leopard is rarely sighted or photographed.

In 2010, Mr Wilting and colleagues captured the first wild footage of the cat to be made public, when during a night survey, they encountered a Sunda clouded leopard walking along a road.

Now Dr Jyrki Hokkanen, a keen wildlife videographer, has obtained much more detailed film of the cat.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Rare cat filmed up close in Borneo

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Clouded leopard caught on camera in Sabah forest

KOTA KINABALU: The elusive clouded leopard has been caught on camera as it roamed the Malua Forest Reserve close to the well-known Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu.

The clouded leopard, which is the biggest cat in Borneo jungles, was captured by a camera trap set up by Cardiff University student Penny Gardner, who was doing a study on wild cattle known as banteng or tembadau.

The pictures, which were uploaded to the Danau Girang Field Centre’s Facebook page, showed wild animals including the bearded pig, Borneo pygmy elephant, crested fireback bird and orang utan in the wild around the Malua forest.

According to Gardner, the large clouded leopard was caught by a camera set up next to a logging road in the Malua forest area.

Her camera snapped the elusive cat on June 22 and the pictures were uploaded to Facebook two days ago.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Clouded leopard caught on camera in Sabah forest

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Rare Monkey thought to be extinct found in Borneo

Scientists working in the dense jungles of Indonesia have "rediscovered" a large, gray monkey so rare it was believed by many to be extinct.

They were all the more baffled to find the Miller's Grizzled Langur, its black face framed by a fluffy, Dracula-esque white collar, in an area well outside its previously recorded home range.

The team set up camera traps in the Wehea Forest on the eastern tip of Borneo island in June, hoping to captures images of clouded leopards, orangutans and other wildlife known to congregate at several mineral salt licks.

The pictures that came back caught them all by surprise: groups of monkeys none had ever seen.

With virtually no photographs of the grizzled langurs in existence, it at first was a challenge to confirm their suspicions, said Brent Loken, a Ph.D. student at Simon Fraser University in Canada, and one of the lead researchers.

The only images out there were museum sketches.

"We were all pretty ecstatic, the fact that, wow, this monkey still lives, and also that it's in Wehea," said Loken.

The monkey, which has hooded eyes and a pinkish nose and lips, once roamed the northeastern part of Borneo, as well as the islands of Sumatra and Java and the Thai-Malay peninsula. But concerns were voiced several years ago that they may be extinct.

Forests where the monkeys once lived had been destroyed by fires, human encroachment and conversion of land for agriculture and mining and an extensive field survey in 2005 turned up empty.

"For me the discovery of this monkey is representative of so many species in Indonesia," Loken told The Associated Press by telephone.

"There are so many animals we know so little about and their home ranges are disappearing so quickly," he said. "It feels like a lot of these animals are going to quickly enter extinction."

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Rare Monkey thought to be extinct found in Borneo

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More Than Half Of Borneo's Carnivores Face Extinction

KOTA KINABALU -- More than fifty percent of Borneo's many carnivore species could become extinct, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which lists them on its red list of threatened species.

In disclosing the findings, Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) director Dr Laurentius Ambu said as such, there was a need for action plans and long-term solutions to the declining number of Borneo's carnivores.

Speaking at the launching of the 1st Borneo Carnivore Symposium, here, today, he said the need to strengthen knowledge was crucial in efforts to protect the 24 species of carnivores found in Borneo such as the amazing Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi), which is only found in Borneo.

"Last year, scientists even rediscovered the world's most endangered otter species here in Sabah at Dermakot (near Sandakan), so it's obvious we have to work harder to protect these amazing wildlife," he said.

The symposium, aimed at developing action plans to ensure the survival of the carnivores in Borneo, was attended by almost 200 scienties from 15 countries including Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

"The conservation of carnivores is important because they are what we call the keystone species as their presence maintains a healthy ecosystem within the forests of Borneo," said Laurentius who was also the organising chairman of the Symposium.

Continue reading at: More Than Half Of Borneo's Carnivores Face Extinction

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Capturing carnivores in Kinabatangan on camera

KINABATANGAN: Sabah Wildlife Department, Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), the NGO HUTAN and WildCRU recently launched the “Kinabatangan Carnivore Programme” with funding from four American zoos, Houston, Columbus, Cincinnati and Phoenix, and private donors in New York.

“The Kinabatangan Carnivore Programme, initiated by our Department, will intend to advance understanding, and the conservation, of the diverse carnivores of the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain,” explained Dr Laurentius Ambu, Director of the Sabah Wildlife Department.

“For this, we are collaborating with Andrew Hearn from WildCRU (University of Oxford, UK) who spent the last four years studying clouded leopards and other carnivores in Danum Valley and Tabin Wildlife Reserve. His experience with camera trapping is primordial for the success of this project,” added Ambu.

“It will be a long-term programme which aims to provide insights into Bornean carnivore ecology and density and develop Bornean carnivore species distribution and habitat suitability models,” said Dr Benoit Goossens, Director of the Danau Girang Field Centre.

“It is crucial for us, wildlife conservationists and managers, to find out about what dispersal opportunities exist for these carnivores and other mammals within the fragmented landscape of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, and how might dispersal corridors be protected, enhanced and restored,” added Goossens.

“Last November, we were extremely pleased to find a sequence of 12 pictures showing a clouded leopard female and her cub walking along a trail. These two individuals were also recorded in December on most of our cameras along a thin corridor of forest between the river and a plantation,” explained Rob Colgan and Rodi Tenquist, two undergraduates from Cardiff University, who are spending a year at DGFC during their professional training year and are providing field assistance to the project.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Capturing carnivores in Kinabatangan on camera
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Clouded leopards in Borneo a unique subspecies

KOTA KINABALU: Using genetic and morphological analyses, an international team of researchers led by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin (IZW), in cooperation with the Sabah Wildlife Department recently demonstrated that the Bornean clouded leopards need to be classified as a unique subspecies (Neofelis diardi borneensis), distinct from its relatives in Sumatra.

In 2006 clouded leopards have drawn international attention, when scientists found that the clouded leopard actually comprises two species living with distinct distributions.

Clouded leopards from Borneo and Sumatra are genetically and morphologically distinct from their relatives on the mainland (Neofelis nebulosa) and thus form a separate species, the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi).

Following up on these findings, a team of researchers led by Andreas Wilting of the IZW investigated in more detail the differences between the spatially distinct populations of the Sunda clouded leopard on Borneo and Sumatra.

Wilting explains: “Due to the long isolation of Sumatran and Bornean clouded leopards we suspect both populations to be different in their genetic and morphological characters and this proves to be true and based on the observed significant distinct characteristics, the researchers have now formally described two subspecies of the Sunda clouded leopard,one occurring exclusively in Sumatra, the other being endemic to Borneo.”

The Sunda clouded leopard is the largest carnivore on Borneo and it was only last year that the first film of a wild Sunda clouded leopard taken in Deramakot Forests Reserve, in Sabah, was released by the IZW, SWD and the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD). This new finding separating Bornean and Sumatran clouded leopards adds another dimension to this discovery as it highlights that Sunda clouded leopards in Bornean forests are unique.

“Their distinctiveness makes them one of the highest priority populations for conservation and ratchets up the need for conservation actions.” said state wildlife director Dr Laurentius Ambu.

Continue reading at: Clouded leopards in Borneo a unique subspecies
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Capturing Borneo’s elusive feline species

Oxford University researcher, Andrew Hearn, has been religiously visiting villages in rural Sabah, speaking to the locals and trudging through rough terrains placing camera traps and collecting data on five of Borneo’s cat species. He has been doing this for nearly four years and remains very passionate about his quest.

There are five species of cats in Borneo, he says. And almost nothing is known about all of them.

Andrew, who is currently based at the Danau Girang Field Centre in Kinabatangan, a facility co-managed by the Sabah Wildlife Department and Cardiff University said that the Borneo cat species comprise of the Leopard Cat, the Bornean Bay Cat, the Flat Headed Cat, the Sunda Clouded Leopard Cat and the Marbled Cat.

The Leopard Cat, he said, is quite common and can be found throughout Southeast Asia right up to Russia.

“So, we are not really worried about this species because it is widely dispersed and it actually does well in oil palm plantations,” he said.

The other four species of cats, on the other hand, have restricted distribution.

The Bornean Bay Cat is only found in the island of Borneo and was first photographed between 2001 and 2002.

“This is incredible in today’s day and age, and we know almost nothing about this animal…we have very small information that they were sighted here in the 1900s but apart from that, we know nothing. No one has ever studied it, so this is a species that we are particularly interested in looking at,” he said.

Then there is the flat headed cat. Again, this species has never been studied and there is a lack of information concerning them. Its distribution, said Andrew, is restricted and that the species can be found in Borneo, Sumatra and parts of Peninsula Malaysia and possibly on the very southern area of Thailand.

“From the looks of it, this cat is restricted to the lowlands which had been traditionally the area where villages are sited and where the people are more prone to cutting the forests down. So this is a big problem for this species because there is now almost zero habitat for them,” he said.

Continue reading at: Capturing Borneo’s elusive feline species
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First footage of new clouded leopard species captured in Borneo

The Sundaland clouded leopard, a newly identified and little understood species of big cat in Borneo, has been filmed for the first time.

The leopard, a healthy-looking animal a metre long (3 feet) and weighing about 40 kilos (90 pounds) was caught on video at night at the Dermakot Forest Reserve in Malaysian Borneo's Sabah state.

"What surprised us was that while clouded leopards are very elusive cats, this one was not scared at all," said Azlan Mohamed, a field scientist with University Sabah Malaysia.

"Despite our powerful spot lights and the roar of our vehicle's engine, it walked around our vehicle calmly," he told AFP.

"It is rare to see the big cat in the wild. These cats are usually shy of humans, it was by chance we caught it on video."

The Sundaland clouded leopard was classified as a new species through genetic studies several years ago and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature designated it as endangered in 2008.

Previously all clouded leopards living across the Southeast Asian mainland were thought to be the same species.

Azlan said the Sundaland species is the biggest predator on Borneo, a resource-rich island split between Malaysia and Indonesia where wildlife habitats are under pressure from logging and plantations.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: First footage of new clouded leopard species captured in Borneo
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