Happy Halloween!

Halloween is Raja's favorite holiday...he always gets a pumpkin to "carve."
Happy Halloween!

Recent News from the Field

It's been an exciting time for CLP supported researchers studying Borneo's wild cats. We just received word from Andy Hearn and Jo Ross that after two months of incredibly difficult work setting up camera traps in Sabah's Tabin Wildlife Reserve they have captured five photos of clouded leopards representing at least three individual animals. In addition, they've photographed two marbled cats, a species that usually proves challenging to capture with cameras.

However, not all visitors to the camera traps are as welcome. Although it is the world's smallest bear species, the sun bear is proving to be quite a nuisance to Andy and Jo's project. Recently a bear ripped two cameras from their trees and gave them the chew toy treatment. The dying act for both cameras was to photograph their murderer! At least it looks like the bear had some fun, right?

Despite the damage, the team was able to repair the cameras so they can be placed back out in the field. While these events are amusing to us, they can be devastating to researchers who count on every piece of data they can get for their project. Andy and Jo also just had two cameras stolen by poachers. We hope this is the end of their bad luck with the cameras.

This photo is so great I wanted to share it too. This elephant stolled down the trail just 20 minutes before Andy and Jo arrived to check the camera. How cool is that?

For more information and stories of the tribulations of studying elusive cats in the tropics, visit the Bornean Wild Cat blog.

In other field news, Dr. Susan Cheyne, working on the CLP supported Sabangau Felid Project in Indonesian Borneo, has captured two marbled cats on camera in the space of two months. This is an especially noteworthy achievement since no previous sightings of marbled cats have taken place in this area since 1994. For more information, visit the project blog.

We are excited to introduce an adorable new way to showcase your love of clouded leopards! Through a partnership with clothing designer Daughter Earth, the Clouded Leopard Project will receive a portion of the proceeds of sales of this charming shirt for women (navy blue) and kids (in light blue and pink). We love how they portray the "clouded" in clouded leopard!

Daughter Earth spreads awareness of endangered species and habitat conservation through the artful design of environmentally conscious clothing, accessories and housewares and we are very grateful for their support.

To order, visit the special ordering page in Clouded Leopard Project online store.

Thailand Clouded Leopard Consortium Press

photo by David Canavan

I realize I neglected to post this article, The Plight of the Clouded Leopard, when it first appeared in the Bangkok Post in August. It is a overview of the Thailand Clouded Leopard Breeding Consortium and the Consortium Manager, Rick Passaro. It's great to see the project get such wonderful press - check it out!

Clouded Leopard Project at International Zoo Keepers Conference

Last week the Clouded Leopard Project was an exhibitor at the annual conference of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) that was held for the first time in conjunction with the International Congress of Zookeepers (ICZ). The conference took place in Seattle and brought together nearly 400 delegates from all over the world. There were several days of presentations sharing a wide range of information and experiences from this highly diverse group of animal professionals. Clouded Leopard Project Vice Presidents Maureen O'Keefe and Andy Goldfarb gave a well-received joint presentation on the evolution and accomplishments of the CLP. Their great talk no doubt generated visits to our vendor table and spurred merchandise sales to support our conservation efforts. The hot seller was our insignia fleece, thanks in part, no doubt, to the sub-Arctic temperature of the hotel meeting room! It was great seeing so many conference delegates decked out in their CLP finery.

Thanks to all our supporters and new CLP friends from this event. A special thank you to Corinne, Kelsey, Paul, and Diana (above) for spending long volunteer hours manning the booth and sharing our story with conference attendees.