Malaysia: Saving the clouded leopard

Ruben Sario The Star 23 Sep 13;

KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife researchers are now in a better position to draw up conservation plans following the capture of one of Sabah’s most elusive wildlife animals, the Sunda clouded leopard.

The 25kg male animal was trapped in the lower Kinabatangan region in Sabah’s east coast and released after being fitted with a satellite tracking collar in a collaborative project between the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and research non-governmental organisations WildCRU and the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

SWD director Datuk Laurentius Ambu said information collected from the male leopard, including its movements over the next six months, would enable researchers to come up with effective measures in protecting the species.

“One of the major outputs of this long-term research programme will be the production of a state action plan for the leopard,” he said.

SWD assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said a better understanding of the clouded leopard ecology and its habitats would enable conservationists to understand its behaviour and how habitat loss and fragmentation have impacted Sabah’s biggest wild cat.

“We also hope that with more accurate data collected on its home range via satellite collars, we will be able to provide better management of the animal in modified landscapes,” he added.

WildCRU researcher Andrew Hearn said the male Sunda clouded leopard was caught in a trap set along the Sungai Kinabatangan on Sept 15.

“Rarely seen, Sunda clouded leopards are amongst the most elusive and secretive of the world’s wild cats, and remain one of the least understood,” he said.

He said researchers managed to capture a female clouded leopard several days later but the 9kg animal was too small and old to be collared.

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goosens said the research programme is funded mainly by a RM1.46mil donation from Sime Darby Foundation with additional funding and support from the Atlanta Zoo, the Houston Zoo, the Recanati-Kaplan Foundation, the Robertson Foundation, the Point Defiance Zoo and the Rufford Foundation.

Leopardtracking goes hi-tech
Kristy Inus New Straits Times 23 Sep 13;

CONSERVATION EFFORTS: Clouded leopard collared with satellite tracking device

KINABATANGAN: THE first satellite collaring of a wild Sunda clouded leopard was achieved recently near the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

The initiative, which saw a 25kg male Sunda clouded leopard trapped before being fitted with the collar on Sept 15, was part of a project focusing on research and conservation of leopards and other carnivores in Sabah.

The project, which was conducted by the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) and DGFC, was funded by Sime Darby Foundation, while additional funding and support for the conservation efforts were provided by the Atlanta Zoo, the Houston Zoo, the Recanati-kaplan Foundation, Robertson Foundation, the Point Defiance Zoo and Rufford Foundation.

WildCRU spokesman Andrew Hearn said Sunda clouded leopards were elusive and secretive wild cats, and as such, remained one of the least understood.

"I have studied these beautiful animals for seven years, yet have seen them only a handful of times. I've been unable to entice one into our traps, until now.

"The leopard was fitted with a satellite collar to provide us with information on its movements in Kinabatangan.

"The device should send a location every 20 minutes for four to six months.

"This will enable us to better determine its home range and how it moves through the fragmented landscape of the Sabah jungle."

Hearn added that a few days later the team caught another female, weighing only 9kg, which was too small and too old to collar.

However, the team said that they have been documenting her movements in the Kinabatangan area since 2010 by using camera traps seeded across the jungle.

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens said the research was carried out based on a RM1.46million donation from the Sime Darby Foundation as part of their 'Big 9' Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

SWD Director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said the results of the research programme on the Sunda clouded leopard would assist in the formation of a State Action Plan for the species.

"By better understanding the clouded leopard's ecology and habitat, we will be able to understand their behaviour and how habitat loss and fragmentation have impacted it," said SWD assistant director Dr Sen Nathan.