Threatened Species of the Day Website from IUCN

To coincide with the International Year of Biodiversity 2010, to increase awareness of the huge variety of life and to raise the profile of threatened species, IUCN has launched The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species “Species of the Day”.

Each day in 2010, a different species will be featured as Species of the Day on the IUCN and IUCN Red List websites. The species will be selected from across all taxa, representing all regions and detailing the threats to their existence.
Three cat species have been nominated for inclusion by the IUCN Cat Specialist Group. They have selected a small cat from Asia, Africa and South America.

The African golden cat will be profiled this week on Wednesday 27 January, and the marbled cat on Wednesday 3 February 2010. You will find the profiles here. Be sure to check it out to learn more about the world's most threatened species.

More Clouded Leopards Identified in Borneo Project

Andy Hearn and Joanna Ross report that they have identified another individual Sunda clouded leopard through their camera trapping study in Sabah, Borneo's Tabin National Park. Through their photos, they can now identify at least 6 males and 2 females within their study area.

Andy and Jo have compiled a photo comparison of the cats to illustrate the unique spot pattern each has - the method by which the researchers identify individual animals. They note that they are seeing less variability in the coats of Tabin's cats and wonder if this may be a result of reduced genetic variability in the population.

For more information, visit their blog post.

Call for Clouded Leopard Project Grants

I'd like to announce that the Clouded Leopard Project is now accepting grant applications for projects supporting research and conservation efforts benefiting clouded leopards and associated Southeast Asian small felids. The application form can be found on the website. Proposals are due March 5, 2010.

Mondays Can be "Poopy!"

Hey guys it’s Andy here with yet another blog. I know, I'm shocked as well.
Ok, I've really never had weekends off in my career. I had Mondays and Tuesdays off most of the time, so Monday was always a good thing unless I had to mow the lawn.
Now over here I'm working all the time, it's just how it goes since I need to see the cats everyday. I make up for it by taking afternoons off to watch football. I’m glad to see football over here because I'm usually at work on Sunday in the states and can’t watch there.

Most of the time I'm not sure what day it is when I'm here but this day, a Monday, I won't forget. I always start the morning by checking on the all the cats. With the four cubbies I have to separate them into twos so it is easier to feed them. When I enter to do this they always think I'm there to feed them so they go nuts and that’s when all the jumping and free flying cats are everywhere. I'm used to this and all the hook marks in the back that come with it. It hurts but it's fun. The one thing that is very cool is you get all these pug marks (foot prints) on your back. People who come to visit love that their clothes have these imprints of survival from their time here.

I have to admit I like the having the marks on my clothes too. But there was something different about this day, a Monday. After I succeeded in the kitty craziness I went to the building to get their breakfast. I kept smelling something that was all too familiar, yeah you guessed it…. Poop! One of the cubs stepped in a pile of the stinky stuff and then jumped on my back leaving a poopy pug mark trail all over my clean shirt. When I walked into the food prep area Arun flipped out that I had cub poop on my back. The guys don't like to get dirty which is really difficult in this line of work. So I took my shirt off and washed outside with some dish soap.

So I had to finish the feedings with no shirt on. Not only did I have to get hassled by the guys, some of the cats were freaked out by this very white guy walking around. They knew it was me but they couldn't believe it. Some of the cats wouldn't eat their food, geez make me feel self conscious. When I got back up to the building my shirt had blown away and was in the dirt. At that point, I said “I'm outta here,” and went to my house to get a clean shirt. Guess what it's Monday so that means football is on over here cause it's Sunday in the States. So Mondays aren't that crappy after all.

Take it easy and I'll write soon…..maybe.
Andy

A New Clouded Leopard from Apple?

You've no doubt heard the rumors about the newest technological innovation on the horizon - the Apple Tablet, aka the iSlate. According to a leaked specs page making the rounds on technology sites, the touchscreen tablet will run with a new operating system rumored to be called the Mac OS X Clouded Leopard. Here are some features I'm hoping come with this exciting new product, helping it live up to the traits of its operating system's feline counterpart:

• Quick and agile navigation, pouncing from page to page with lightening reflexes.
  
  Unsurpassed multitasking ability to locate, retrieve, and devour the
  information you're hunting.
  
  Extreme privacy protection enabling you to elude predators such as spammers
  and people sending chain emails. (And when they are encountered you dispatch
  them quickly.)
  
  Enabled with chuffing sounds for reminder alerts and snarls for error
  messages.
  
  A naturalistic case with cloud-like spots.
  
  A luxurious furry (faux, naturally) 6' charging cable (twitching motion
  optional).
  
  A built in link to the Clouded Leopard Project website.
  
  The sleekest, most appealing product available with an optimistic and
  successful future.
  
  Finally, $5 from the profits of each tablet sold go to support Clouded
  Leopard Conservation!

Did I forget anything? Apple, are you listening?

We Got Our ®!

After nearly a year in line at the United States Patent and Trademark Office we have just received word that the "Clouded Leopard Project"® is now officially trademarked! This is good news for us as there has been some ongoing confusion for folks based on some casual use of our name by other clouded leopard conservation efforts. Now we can clear up the confusion. I never thought I would be so pleased to use a superscripted, circled R...