By Cher Thornhill
24th July 2009

 

A family of rare leopards have been discovered by villagers in Bangladesh - where they were thought to be extinct.

Conservationists in the south Asian country accepted twenty years ago that they might never again see a clouded leopard.

But villagers, who stumbled on a mother and her two young three months ago in the south east of the country, have now released one of the cubs back into the wild.

 

Bangladeshi conservationists said that the discovery renewed hopes for the survival of the mysterious species, which has was thought to be losing the battle against deforestation and trade in rare animals.

The species, which is remembered for the dark patches on its coat, is timid and nocturnal.

 

It is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with 100,000 of the species believed to still be living worldwide.

In most cases where a rare species is captured, villagers sell the animal, but in this case conservationists had convinced them to release it back into the wild, Professor Islam explained.

Professor Islam said: 'Locals stumbled upon two cubs and their mother eating a monkey in the district of Rangimati three weeks ago.

'They were only able to capture one cub.'

'It was tremendous news because many conservationists thought the animal was extinct from Bangladesh due to habitat loss.'

Clouded leopards were mainly found in south and southeast Asian countries. The last reported sightings of the animal in Bangladesh were in 1992 and 2005.

Rarely seen in the wild, their habits remain mysterious. They are noted as being exceptional climbers, able to hang upside down beneath large branches using their huge paws.





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