After 13-Year Quest, Clouded Leopards Confirmed Extinct in Taiwan

Thirteen years, 1,500 infrared cameras, hundreds of catnip-baited hair traps and an almost incalculable number of hours in the field have confirmed what scientists have long feared: the Formosan clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa brachyura ) is in all likelihood extinct. The subspecies, endemic to Taiwan, was wiped out by poaching, trade in its pelts during the Japanese occupation, habitat destruction and elimination of its natural prey."There is little chance that the clouded leopard still exists in Taiwan," zoologist Chiang Po-jen told the Taipei Times this week. Although he seems to hold hope that a few of the cats might still survive, he said "we do not think they exist in any significant numbers." [More]