Since a clouded leopard has escaped the Dallas Zoo, we’re learning more about the species.
As we’ve learned, the clouded leopards have a bit of a notorious history as escapees from zoos and animal collections. Here’s that fact and several others we’ve learned as we wait for word of the animal’s whereabouts:
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They’re notorious escapees
The National Zoo was shut down in 2006 with an escaped clouded leopard after it had escaped from a mesh fence. Keepers found the animal along a trail, just outside its enclosure. A clouded leopard escaped its enclosure in 2009 for a short time at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. A clouded leopard escaped and killed a sheep and injured others in 2018 in Cornwall, England. In Malaysia’s Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, a clouded leopard escaped from its enclosure for 14 hours in 2020. In 2021, the South China Morning Post reported three leopards managed to escape a zoo in Hangzhou, China, while their cage was being cleaned. It’s unclear what kind of leopards escaped. And now this one in Dallas.
As of this writing, we didn’t find evidence of any people hurt by clouded leopards that have escaped.
They can take down sizeable prey
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute notes that although a relatively small predator, a clouded leopard can take down sizeable prey because of its strong legs, large canines and extreme gape (ability to open mouth to about 100 degrees). Their chief prey are gibbons, macaques, slow loris, small deer and wild boars, which they ambush from the trees or stalk from the ground. They may also hunt birds and rodents. Scientists once thought that clouded leopards mainly hunted from or in trees; current thought, however, is that while some hunting may occur in the trees, the majority most likely takes place on the ground.
RELATED: Clouded leopard escapes habitat at Dallas-area zoo, report says
They often mate for life
The biggest challenge in clouded leopard management in human care is mate compatibility, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. It writes, “There is a high incidence of aggression between males and females, sometimes resulting in the death of the female. This fact has made clouded leopards one of the most difficult cats to breed in zoos and conservation centers. Unlike other large cats, pair formation in clouded leopards is most successful when the male is less than 12 months of age. Once paired, most clouded leopards in human care remain with the same mate for life. Formation of adult pairs, at least in human care, often results in injury or death of the female by the male; however, adult females can be paired successfully with immature males. Therefore, present management practices include introducing the members of a pair before 1 year of age, or a subadult male to a mature female. This practice has resulted in the establishment of more successful pair-bonds and lessening of aggression; however, it also limits the genetic variability. Additionally, present management practices also include hand-rearing all cubs due to low breeding numbers and high infant mortality.”
They’re night animals
Clouded leopards are thought to be primarily nocturnal.
They can live into their teens
The average life span of the clouded leopard is 12 to 15 years, though they may live up to 17 years in human care, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute says.
Learn more about this species from our resource, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.