Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)

[Acinonyx sp.]

First estimates of population ecology and threats to Sunda clouded leopards Neofelis diardi in a peat-swamp forest, Indonesia

ABSTRACT: The Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi is Borneo’s largest predator. A study of the species’ population ecology in 50 km2 (effective sample area 145 km2 ) of the Sabangau forest, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, spanned May 2008 to January 2012. A total of 54 camera traps at 27 stations yielded 35 129 functional trap nights resulting in 90 photos of 6 clouded leopards: 5 males and 1 female. Using capture-recapture analysis in 3 mo blocks, we extrapolated to an estimated density range of 0.72 to 4.41 ind. per 100 km2 across all models and all data sets. Direct hunting pressure on the cats and indirect threats through possible depletion of the prey base by humans were assessed though interview and questionnaire surveys of 68 villagers in 9 villages around the edge of the 5600 km2 Sabangau Forest. Of the respondents, 40% hunted deer and bearded pigs, although no respondent listed hunting as their main source of income or food. The low detection rates of clouded leopards suggests that a minimum area of 100 km2 per site, and multiple sites, should be studied to elucidate the impact of habitat disturbance and fragmentation on clouded leopard populations.

CONCLUSIONS 
This is the first population study for this threatened felid in any peat-swamp forest, although we have been at pains to emphasise the methodological caveats. We conclude that even with preliminary density range estimates of only 0.72 to 4.41 ind. per 100 km2 , peat forest (of which there are an estimated 68 000 km2 in Indonesian Borneo; Page et al. 1997, 1999, Cheyne & Macdonald 2011), may be more important to clouded leopard conservation than previously supposed. If our evidence is typical, then by extrapolation, the totality of peat forest in Indonesian Borneo might harbour a significant population of clouded leopards. Local surveys suggest that hunting pressure is relatively low, and thus habitat loss and fragmentation are likely to be the greatest threats. Reply