Clouded Leopards: The Future

Clouded leopards, a unique species of feline that inhabits Southeast Asian rainforests, are well-suited to their habitat: they have flexible ankles that help them climb down trees head-first, spotted fur, and long canines and a wide-opening jaw— perfect to hunt large rainforest animals. But their habitat is changing. The low islands where they live are being submerged by rising seas, and deforestation is destroying their trees. Soon there won’t be many large rainforest animals. In two thousand years, clouded leopards will likely have adapted to hunt fish. Like the fishing cat, another endangered species, they’ll have webbed paws and thicker, watertight fur. Their snouts will shorten as they hunt smaller prey. But will clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa) even survive that long? The IUCN Red List estimates that there’s only 3,700-5,580 left in the wild, and that number is rapidly decreasing.