- Despite sharing habitats, leopard cats and clouded leopards exhibit different behaviours, minimising competition and coexisting peacefully, finds a study.
- Conservation efforts aimed at protecting large carnivores such as tigers, indirectly benefit smaller carnivores such as leopard cats by regulating medium-sized predator populations and maintaining balanced ecosystems.
- The study adds that conservation efforts such as habitat protection, managing human disturbances, maintaining prey populations, habitat restoration and anti-poaching measures can go a long way in protecting the two small cat species.
The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) and the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) are elusive, nocturnal creatures that are found coexisting peacefully in the same niche, occupying the same habitat but differently, careful not to step on each other’s toes, finds a new study conducted in the Manas National Park of Assam.
The study published in the Journal of Wildlife Science (JWLS) unearthed the secret lives of the elusive carnivores by studying their spatial ecology. It found the co-occurrence patterns and the factors determining the habitat selection of the two species of wild cats, along with their relationship with other carnivores and the positive impact of tiger conservation on these species. It further outlines the threats the two species face and the urgent need for habitat conservation.
The study was carried out by Salvador Lyngdoh, a Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientist and principal investigator of the study, and Urjit Bhatt, an independent wildlife researcher.
To study the habitat of the two elusive species, the researchers conducted a camera trap survey in the Manas National Park (MNP) to document the community of small, medium, and large mammalian carnivores and understand their habitat associations, studying 37 species – 17 carnivores and 20 non-carnivores for this research. After the study, they could draw similarities between the habitat uses and behaviours of the clouded leopard and the leopard cat.
While the leopard cat is pretty much the size of a domestic cat, its legs are longer in comparison. Found across most of India, west into Pakistan and Afghanistan, into the Himalayan foothills, China, northern part of the Korean peninsula and far east in Russia and across Southeast Asia, the leopard cats vary widely in size and appearance across their range. Their coat colours can range from pale tawny, to yellow, red or grey with dark coloured rosettes, like those of leopards. They are listed under the ‘least concern’ category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Noted for their yellowish-brown fur coat covered in dark cloud-like patterns, clouded leopards, on the other hand, are larger than the leopard cat and can be considered as medium-sized cats.
“Clouded leopards are more like a “medium-sized cat” or even the “smallest big cat” due to their unique characteristics,” Bhatt said. “Often compared to a modern-day sabre-tooth tiger, clouded leopards have the largest canines relative to their skull size among all cat species. This adaptation allows them to successfully hunt medium-sized ungulates, showcasing their impressive hunting abilities.”
They are also exceptional climbers, with a body up to three feet in size and as long a tail. Their arboreal skills make them one of the most unique wild cats. “Clouded leopards are one of the only cats in the world that can climb down, hang upside down from and hunt in trees,” states Global Conservation, a conservation organisation working for the protection of endangered wild species.
Clouded leopards – listed as ‘vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List, with a decreasing population trend – are found from the foothills of the Himalayas to the rain forests of Indonesia.
The JWLS study found that while the habitat use of the leopard cat is influenced by tigers and clouded leopards, that of clouded leopards isn’t significantly influenced by any other carnivore species.
“Both the species prefer habitats with high canopy cover, dense vegetation, and small prey species. This kind of environment offers shelter, protection from predators, and a good setting for hunting and foraging, as it supports various prey species and provides hiding spots for both of these ambush predators,” said Bhatt.
He added that while the clouded leopard showed a positive co-occurrence with the leopard cat, their spatial overlap values were very low. “This suggests that they use different parts of the habitat or have different behaviours to coexist. Though both are nocturnal, they might be active at different times of the night or have different activity peaks, as we found in a previous study in 2021,” Bhatt added.
The study states that while the leopard cat and clouded leopard can be found in the same areas as other carnivores, their ability to coexist likely depends on differences in their activities or resource use, such as feeding habits or timing of activity.
Positive effects of tiger conservation
Revealing co-occurrence patterns between big and small carnivores, the study also sheds light on the positive effects of big-cat conservation projects like Project Tiger in protecting the habitats of these two smaller cats.
“The positive relationship between small carnivores (leopard cat) and the presence of large carnivores (tiger) might be because tigers provide benefits to leopard cats by controlling the populations of medium-sized predators, reducing competition and predation risks for smaller species. Therefore, conservation efforts to protect large carnivores also support the survival of smaller ones, including the leopard cat,” Bhatt told Mongabay-India. “This top-down regulation within the carnivore community helps maintain a balanced ecosystem.”
While tiger conservation projects had positive effects on smaller carnivores, there is an urgent need to protect the prey-base for the smaller carnivores too, Bhatt said.
“The clouded leopard prefers habitats with prey species like the red junglefowl and kalij pheasant, which highlights the conservation importance of these small prey species,” Bhatt said.
He added that the positive association between the leopard cat and the clouded leopard suggests potential overlap in prey availability, suitable habitats, or similar arboreal behaviours, which makes it necessary to undertake efforts to conserve the habitat of the prey species to ensure a healthy ecosystem.
Threats to the felids
Habitat destruction is perhaps the most common threat to wildlife in general. The study also confirms that the leopard cat faces threats from human activities, especially in regions where they are hunted for meat by local tribal communities, making habitat conservation all the more important.
“Our study shows a negative relationship between human presence and leopard cats, highlighting the dangers they face from human interactions. So, the leopard cats avoid human disturbances and are often found in areas with tigers and clouded leopards,” said Bhatt.
As the study was able to identify the habitat preferences of both the species of small cats in MNP, it can provide a roadmap in habitat conservation for the protection of the felines in their natural, wild spaces.
“Prioritising the protection of primary forests, managing human disturbances, and maintaining healthy prey populations can support the survival of these species,” Bhatt said.
The two scientists working on the research also insist on targeted actions such as habitat restoration, monitoring and research, anti-poaching measures, community engagement and education, and transboundary collaboration to enhance the long-term survival prospects of clouded leopards and leopard cats in their natural habitats.
Banner image: Clouded leopards prey upon a range of species including wild pigs and ungulates, helping control forest populations. Image by Charlie Marshall via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).
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