As the historic Tiger Summit concluded with plans to secure more financial backing to increase the world’s big cat population, the state of its cousin, Clouded Leopard (called Dhuwanse Chituwa in Nepal), is obscure.
Researcher Eric Dinerstein and Jai N Meheta, in their book “The Clouded Leopard in Nepal” writes, “Clouded leopards were believed to be extinct in Nepal, the last published record being from 1863, but in 1987-1988 four individuals were found in the country.”[break]
“There are abundant efforts being made to save animals like the rhino and tigers but small carnivore animals and other cats like the clouded leopards have been denied due attention, despite the fact that they might also be declining,” says Yadav Ghimirey, who will disseminate the results of his almost two years of research on small carnivore animals, with special focus on clouded leopard, today at Hotel Pension Vasana in Dilli Bazaar.
Analyzing the general scenario, it is apparent that not much effort has been made to research on small carnivores or even on other cats like clouded leopards, which has been put in the same status like that of other endangered species like the rhino and tiger. Dr Rinjan Shrestha, coordinator of the research, development and monitoring unit of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), concurs.
When asked about the reason behind it, Shrestha observes, “The primary reason could be the approach of allocation of limited resources like money, time and effort.”
Apart from it, he points out that the conservation of umbrella species such as tigers also means conservation of other species associated with them.
Diwakar Chapagain, coordinator of Wildlife Trade Control at WWF adds since tiger and rhino are more vulnerable from poaching and illegal trade, they certainly need more attention for their protection.
But as there is no illustrative research done on clouded leopards, which is one of the top predators of the ecosystem, we cannot conclude that to what extent such animals are vulnerable to poaching and illegal trading. Chapagain states, “In seizures of the skins of other Asian big cats, skin of clouded leopard is rarely found.”
The state of affairs
Nepal is home to 26 endangered species, and clouded leopard is amongst the top five. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the animal as “vulnerable.”
According to the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973, if any one kills the particular animal and trades its parts or derivates, one can face the same punishment as in the case of rhino and tiger, informs Chapagain.
In the field with Yadav Ghimirey
Ghimirey, who formerly worked with organizations like Bird Conservation Nepal, started his research on small carnivores in December 2008 and wrapped it up in August 2010. He made at least five trips to Makalu-Barun National Park and Buffer Zone, one of the 16 protected areas of Nepal located in the northeastern parts of Nepal. He claims the area to be one of the least explored ones. Shrestha of WWF confirms that clouded leopards are found in the mid-eastern range, and the aforementioned park lies in the same range.
When asked about how he got into the research, Ghimirey informs, “During my Masters thesis, I had worked on common leopards.” This is when Ghimirey found about the elusive and rare clouded leopards.
With the funds that he received, the environmental management graduate started his research with the help of 20 camera traps. But lack of baseline and deficient data somewhat made his endeavor a difficult one. Ghimirey’s baseline research was the social survey and interaction with villagers.
Though clouded leopards, the main character of the study, could not be photographically trapped, the research yielded evidences on other rare species, whose existence were limited to literature only.
His team, however, photographed pelts of two clouded leopards in the buffer zone. “And through several informal interactions with previous hunters and even poachers, we came to find out that the status of the animal is uncertain,” Ghimirey adds, “Most probably, due to its elusive and shy nature, we weren’t able to capture it.”
According to the research’s final paper, a few other rare animals were traced during the camera trap. “There had been no photographic evidence of the Asian Golden Cat but we got hold of one,” informs the researcher. Apart from the anecdotal reports, the closest that one ever got to the golden cat was the then British Resident in Nepal, Brian H. Hodgson, when he found the cat’s skin in 1831. After the review from experts, it was confirmed that the animal was the Asian Golden Cat.
The other achievement of the research has been the recording of the Leopard Cat too. “Even though the cat was believed to be found in areas ranging upto 3,000 meters, there were no records of it. However, we camera-trapped one at 3,254 meters,” informs Ghimirey, who is currently affiliated with Friends of Nature, a youth-led social and environmental organization.
Conservation efforts
“Virtually there has been no research on the population size or the distribution range of this specific cat,” informs Shrestha. He also admits that there have not been detailed studies on small carnivore animals as well that are the protectors of many aspects of our ecosystem
Yagya Dahal, Joint Secretary and Assistant to Spokesperson at the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, candidly accepts the fact of the government being weak in terms of research on other animals.
WWF is planning to conduct a survey in the most potential habitats within Clouded Leopard’s range in Nepal. Regarding small carnivore animals, Shrestha informs that some preliminary studies on the Golden Cat, Marbled Cat, Leopard Cat were conducted in different time periods.
Talking about the Makalu-Barun National Park and Buffer Zone, unlike other buffer zones, it is not safeguarded by the Nepal Army (NA). “As the area is also a national park and a buffer zone, the park is the responsibility of the community,” explains Dahal, “The department also lacks budget for the deployment of NA. As it is, Ghimirey’s observation states that the future is bleak.
Despite the rigorous conservation attempts that were and are being made, the tigers still remain a species on the verge of extinction. And different researches worldwide make it apparent that the top predators such as the Amur Leopard, the Arabian Leopard, the Javan Leopard linger on the edge of vanishing. In this context, the future of unstudied small carnivores and cats like Clouded Leopards is quite predictable.
