For the very first time in Nagaland, a researcher’s team successfully camera trapped a clouded leopard.
They were spotted at Thanamir village in Kiphire district of Nagaland.
Was found in a forest of Nagaland
The clouded leopard was found in a community-owned forest at an elevation of 3,700 meters near the Indo-Myanmar border.
Clouded leopards are largely known to inhabit low elevation primary evergreen rainforests. However, two adults and two cubs were captured at an altitude of 3,700 meters.
In a report researchers said, “Local communities in Nagaland own and manage a large majority of the region’s forests, with a range of village-specific management regimes. Our surveys found these community forests to host a high diversity and abundance of several globally threatened taxa.”
The researcher was a part of collaboration between Thanamir village and the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), a conservation NGO based in New Delhi.
About clouded leopards
Clouded leopards are known to be the greatest climbers with short, strong legs in their class. They use their huge paws and keen claws not just to climb quickly, but also to hang upside down.
As per National Geographic, they spend most of their time hunting on the ground. They hunt to eat deer, pigs, monkeys, squirrels and birds.
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