FWD: Wildlife Dept catches rare leopard in housing area

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This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)

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Saturday November 22, 2003

Wildlife Dept catches rare leopard in housing area

 

 

IPOH: The Perak Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has managed

to catch an extremely rare Clouded Leopard, which had wandered into the Asia

Mining residential area in Temoh, about 50km from here.

 

State Perhilitan director Jasmi Abdul said the adult male leopard might have

been lost after a storm earlier and wandered into the compound of a house in

search of food.

 

“The leopard was reported to be fighting with dogs, and villagers alerted the

Fire and Rescue Department, which later contacted Perhilitan at about 10am,” he

told reporters at the department here yesterday.

 

Jasmi said it took five firemen and two Perhilitan officials an hour to catch

the feline, which weighs 30kg and measures 1.7m long. It is estimated to be

between 10 and 15 years old.

 

 

 

He said the animal would be taken to the Malacca Zoo.

 

“The animal, which had wandered from the Bujang Melaka forest reserve near the

village, will not be returned there because Perhilitan is uncertain it can

survive,” he added.

 

He also said the leopard, which is known by the scientific name Neofelis

nebulosus, is the smallest of Malaysia’s great cats, after the Indo-Chinese

tiger and the black panther.

 

“We feel very lucky to catch one alive because it’s a beautiful animal and

there are fewer Clouded Leopards than tigers in the Malaysian wild as they do

not breed very easily,” he added.

 

Jasmi said the Clouded Leopard, which snarled at press photographers, was

normally not fierce, and eats small mammals such as goats and deer as well as

chickens.

 

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