Species comparison
Clouded Leopard vs Sunda Clouded Leopard
A side-by-side look at Neofelis nebulosa and Neofelis diardi across body measurements, habitat, diet, behaviour and conservation status.
At a glance
- The clouded leopard and the sunda clouded leopard fall into a similar body-mass band.
- Both species use tropical rainforest and montane forest.
- Their ranges both include Asia.
- Both are currently listed as Vulnerable on the Red List.
Identification
How each species is named and classified.
Clouded Leopard
Neofelis nebulosa
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Neofelis diardi
Clouded Leopard
Neofelis
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Neofelis
Clouded Leopard
Panthera lineage
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Panthera lineage
Clouded Leopard
Medium-sized cats
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Medium-sized cats
Clouded Leopard
Mainland clouded leopard
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Bornean clouded leopard, Sundaland clouded leopard
Body and movement
Published field measurements for adults. Ranges cover both sexes unless noted.
Clouded Leopard
2 ft 3 in – 3 ft 7 in (68–108 cm) Longer
Sunda Clouded Leopard
2 ft 4 in – 3 ft 5 in (70–105 cm)
Clouded Leopard
2 ft – 3 ft (61–91 cm) Longer
Sunda Clouded Leopard
24 in – 2 ft 9 in (60–85 cm)
Clouded Leopard
20 in – 22 in (50–55 cm)
Sunda Clouded Leopard
20 in – 22 in (50–55 cm)
Clouded Leopard
24–55 lb (11–25 kg)
Males are noticeably heavier than females.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
26–57 lb (12–26 kg) Heavier
Limited sample sizes; most figures come from a small number of captured animals.
Clouded Leopard
Not reliably measured
No reliable field measurement exists for this species.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Not reliably measured
Not measured in the field.
Life span
Typical adult longevity. Figures for managed care come from zoo and sanctuary records.
Clouded Leopard
10–12 years
Sunda Clouded Leopard
10–12 years
Clouded Leopard
13–17 years
Sunda Clouded Leopard
13–17 years
Habitat and range
Where each species lives and the conditions it tolerates.
Clouded Leopard
tropical rainforest, montane forest, dry forest
Primarily closed-canopy evergreen forest, but also recorded in secondary growth, mangrove, dry woodland and, in the Himalaya, forest above 8,000 feet.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
tropical rainforest, montane forest
Lowland and hill dipterocarp forest, peat swamp forest and montane forest; the species also uses selectively logged forest, though at lower densities than in primary habitat.
Clouded Leopard
Asia
Mainland South East Asia and the eastern Himalaya: Nepal, north-east India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and southern China.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Asia
Endemic to Borneo and Sumatra, with separate subspecies recognised on each island.
Diet and behaviour
Feeding ecology, social organisation and hunting technique.
Clouded Leopard
primates, small mammals, birds, medium ungulates
Gibbons, macaques, slow lorises, porcupines, squirrels, pheasants, small deer and pigs, taken both in trees and on the ground.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
small mammals, primates, birds, medium ungulates
Bearded pig, mouse deer, macaques, proboscis monkeys, porcupines, civets and birds.
Clouded Leopard
Solitary
Secretive and rarely observed directly; most ecological knowledge comes from camera trapping and a small number of radio-collared animals.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Solitary
Individuals maintain large home ranges relative to body size; detections are strongly associated with continuous forest cover.
Clouded Leopard
Nocturnal and crepuscular
Camera-trap records cluster at night and around dusk, with daytime resting in trees.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Nocturnal and crepuscular
Camera-trap data show a strong night-time peak, with some crepuscular movement.
Clouded Leopard
Arboreal and ground ambush
Prey is approached quietly and killed with a bite to the nape or skull, aided by unusually long canines.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Stalking ambush in forest
Hunts both from branches and along the ground, taking prey up to the size of a young bearded pig.
Clouded Leopard
Exceptional
One of the most arboreal cats: it can hang from branches by its hind feet and climb down trunks head first.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Exceptional
Highly arboreal, with the same rotating ankle anatomy as the mainland species.
Clouded Leopard
Capable
Recorded crossing rivers, though the species is not associated with wetlands.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Capable
Recorded crossing rivers within its forest range.
Conservation
Red List category, population direction and the pressures documented for each species.
Clouded Leopard
VU — Vulnerable
Assessed 2016
Sunda Clouded Leopard
VU — Vulnerable
Assessed 2015
Clouded Leopard
Decreasing
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Decreasing
Clouded Leopard
Deforestation, Indiscriminate snaring, Trade in skins, teeth and bones, Prey depletion, Habitat fragmentation
Forest loss across South East Asia is the dominant pressure, compounded by intensive snaring that removes both the cat and its prey.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
Conversion of forest to plantation, Logging, Fragmentation of lowland forest, Snaring, Trade in skins
Conversion of lowland forest to oil-palm plantation has removed a large share of the best habitat on both islands, leaving increasingly isolated forest blocks.
Notable traits
Details that do not fit neatly into a measurement table.
Clouded Leopard
- Relative to skull length, its canines are the longest of any living cat, a proportion often compared with extinct sabre-toothed forms.
- Rotating hind ankles allow head-first descent, a trait shared with very few other cats.
- The tail can be as long as the head and body, acting as a balance beam in the canopy.
Sunda Clouded Leopard
- It was described as a distinct species only in 2006, after genetic comparison with mainland clouded leopards.
- Its cloud markings are smaller, darker-edged and more densely spotted than those of the mainland species.
- On Borneo it occupies the ecological role that tigers and leopards fill elsewhere in Asia.
Sources used for this comparison
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Global assessment categories, population trends and documented threats.
- IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group Species accounts, distribution notes and Cat News reporting for every wild felid.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Body measurements, longevity records and life-history notes.
- Wildlife Conservation Society Field programmes, camera-trap surveys and population monitoring.
- National Geographic — Animals General natural-history reference for behaviour, range and ecology.
- World Wildlife Fund Range descriptions, threat summaries and conservation programme reporting.
- Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation Dedicated research and field reporting on the lesser-known felids.