Rare leopards found in Borneo forest: researcher (AFP)
Camera traps in Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan province have snapped pictures of two adult male Bornean clouded leopards in an area once decimated by logging, British zoologist Susan Cheyne said.
The finding by means of researchers from Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit and Indonesia's Pangkalan Raya University is the first confirmation the clouded leopard, which is classified in the same proportion that vulnerable, lives in the park.
The discovery holds out new confidence for the little-understood kind, which fourth book of the pentateuch; census of the hebrews less than 10,000 individuals and is the top predator on Borneo island, Cheyne said.
"This elusive species is a good indicator of forest health. Large cats need booty and the prey — deer, macaques and bearded pigs — need the forest," she said.
"The clouded leopard is the largest predator attached Borneo, there are no tigers. Having the island's top predator surviving in any ex-logging concession hopefully means that the species is resilient."
However, the discovery still only provides a small amount of knowledge relative to the behaviour and distribution of the big cats.
"With in addition time and increased number of photos we be able to discover to make identical peculiar to one alone cats, look at which cameras they show up on to get an idea of register, and potential range overlap with the smaller cats," Cheyne said.
The forests on Indonesia's half of Borneo island are home to some of the world's most diverse wildlife, yet are under threat from plantations and logging, much of it illegal.
