Mysterious Clouded Leopard Spotted in Nagaland Mountains for 1st Time

DIMAPUR: Clouded leopards were camera-trapped for the very first time in Nagaland at an elevation of 3,700 meters in a community-owned forest near the Indo-Myanmar border by a team of researchers.

Clouded leopards are generally found in low-elevation evergreen rainforests, were spotted at Thanamir village in Kiphire district, with two adults and two cubs. Mount Saramati, Nagaland's tallest mountain, is located in a 65-square-kilometer community-owned forest.

The survey was part of a collaboration between Thanamir village and the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), a conservation NGO based in New Delhi.

This is one of the highest clouded leopard sightings ever in India." Our findings show that clouded leopards can use far larger areas than previously imagined. All of the high-elevation records are from the summer, implying that cloudy conditions exist, and the report added.

In Nagaland, local groups control and manage the vast majority of the region's woods, with a variety of spices. "We discovered a high variety and richness of several globally vulnerable taxa in these community forests," researchers wrote in a report.

Clouded leopards have short, strong legs and are known to be the greatest climbers in their class. They can use their huge paws and keen claws to climb quickly, but also to hang upside down. According to National Geographic, they spend the majority of their time hunting on the ground, eating on deer, pigs, monkeys, and smaller game such as squirrels and birds.

Clouded leopards are known to inhabit a variety of habitats, including primary, secondary, and selectively logged forests, and are thought to favor close, forested settings, according to researchers. Previous records have been reported from 3,720 meters in Sikkim, 3,600 meters in Bhutan, and 3,498 meters in a Nepalese protected area.

The new information suggests that the cat species can survive at high altitudes in the eastern Himalayas.

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