Now that I've finally had a chance to catch up on tasks resulting from our recent Clouded Leopard and Small Felid Conservation Summit I wanted to provide a final wrap-up post. We are still compiling all of the information gathered at the meeting and will be issuing a final report in approximately six weeks.
I can tell you that we definitely met several of our objectives for the Summit. One of the most important was getting all of the people together who are working independently on felid issues throughout the region. It was wonderful to see the information sharing and connecting that took place. Many of the field researchers left with plans in place for future collaboration on projects and research methods that will have long-term benefits for increasing our knowledge about these cats.
During the meeting, participants divided into regional working groups to identify critical issues and develop action steps to address them. There were two overriding actions identified by all groups. One was the need for more studies to address the significant gaps in knowledge that still exist about these species in the wild. Because we are so data deficient on these cats - in some cases not even knowing where each species can even be found - major work in the field is still needed. The other glaring issue identified is the need for educational intervention to increase awareness about cats and their conservation needs for audiences throughout Southeast Asia. This includes audiences from the community level all the way up to those in positions of authority in regional and national governments who have the ability to tighten and enforce laws as well as promote field work and educational programming.
We are excited about the Clouded Leopard Project’s future role in addressing these issues. We plan to develop a comprehensive wild cat curriculum in partnership with educators from the region. Because of the generous support we received for the meeting, we have funds remaining to help us begin instituting this effort.
We will post the complete Summit report on the website when it is available and will also continue to keep all of our supporters apprised of our ongoing efforts on behalf of clouded leopards and the other endangered cats of Southeast Asia.
During the meeting, participants divided into regional working groups to identify critical issues and develop action steps to address them. There were two overriding actions identified by all groups. One was the need for more studies to address the significant gaps in knowledge that still exist about these species in the wild. Because we are so data deficient on these cats - in some cases not even knowing where each species can even be found - major work in the field is still needed. The other glaring issue identified is the need for educational intervention to increase awareness about cats and their conservation needs for audiences throughout Southeast Asia. This includes audiences from the community level all the way up to those in positions of authority in regional and national governments who have the ability to tighten and enforce laws as well as promote field work and educational programming.
We are excited about the Clouded Leopard Project’s future role in addressing these issues. We plan to develop a comprehensive wild cat curriculum in partnership with educators from the region. Because of the generous support we received for the meeting, we have funds remaining to help us begin instituting this effort.
We will post the complete Summit report on the website when it is available and will also continue to keep all of our supporters apprised of our ongoing efforts on behalf of clouded leopards and the other endangered cats of Southeast Asia.
The breeding program is managed by a consortium made up of the Thailand Zoological Park Organization, Khao Kheow Open Zoo, Smithsonian's National Zoo, Nashville Zoo, and the Thailand Department of National Parks. During our visit, Point Defiance was official added as a formal member of the consortium. This is an exciting development because we have provided significant staff and funding resources to the project over the last several years. We also hope to augment that support by assisting Zoo staff in the production of educational materials relating to clouded leopards as well as assistance with keeper training. We hope to have many years of productive partnership in the future! 
This is the perfect age to interact with these hand-reared cubs. They are getting more active and agile, are very friendly and curious, and are of course devastatingly adorable. Look carefully and you can also see that their baby blue eyes are in transition to their adult amber color. 
A big thank you goes out to Rick Passarro, the program's manager, who patiently let us maul his babies. 
It's been a long time since Karen and I had our hands on clouded leopard cubs so we made up for lost time!
In Thailand, National Parks are more highly developed for tourism; Phu Khieo sees very few visitors and those that do come require special permits. Instead, the primary purpose of Wildlife Sanctuaries is for the protection of wildlife so they are usual quite a bit more pristine than the National Parks.
I was especially pleased to be able to do some birding – both Dr. Naris and Dr. Ronglarp are experts at identifying species, even by call. Given the wide array of birds in the Sanctuary (and in my field guide!) this was a huge help as I would never have been able to figure them out before they flew off. I made some great additions to my life list, including an orange-breasted trogon and scarlet minivet. We also learned quite a bit about some of the medicinal and culinary plants in the forest. 
Our group split up to take several hikes about which we compared notes afterward. Our group was lucky enough to spot a rarely-blooming relative of the giant rafflesia flower of Borneo.
However, it was no contest which group was the “winner:” Bill experienced a leech “attack” and had the gruesome blood stain to prove it, much to the appreciation of the rest of his group.(This really isn’t leech season as it is now dry, so his interactive wildlife viewing scored even more points.) 
Our ranger was amazing at finding wildlife sign for us, including quite a few tracks of porcupines, civets, leopard cats, and possibly a clouded leopard. 
After our hike the ranger and Dr. Ronglarp gave us a tour of the small museum that houses quite a few specimens.
They showed us a number of plaster casts of tracks of a wide variety of mammals in Phu Khieo, from the giant gaur (a wild type of cattle) to the tiny leopard cat. 
We also saw a cast of a track from what was likely the last Sumatran rhino living in Thailand, taken in 1992. 
Hog deer had been eliminated in the park but reintroduced in the 1980s and now have a stable population. Around the Sanctuary’s headquarters is a large expanse of grassland that was created especially for the deer. This area is burned annually to limit forest encroachment and provide habitat for not only the deer, but a rich variety of other species that utilize the grasslands for foraging or hunting.
The Queen stayed there over twenty years ago during her visit and has not returned since. However, the house is keep immaculate for her and no one else is allowed to use it or stay there. If I were the Queen, I would be back for frequent visits as this is her view: 
