Simon Combes

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To learn more about this strangely named, curious, elusive and little-known animal called the clouded leopard, I tracked down one of the world's leading experts, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz. When I asked for advice on how to locate clouded leopards in the wild with a view to painting, he just laughed. This was disconcerting, but he then described the elusiveness of this aboreal, nocturnal cat: in all his years of research he has never seen one in the wild. This explains not so much their rareness but their ability to hide and melt into the jungle.

At a zoo in England which concentrates on rare cats, I found six clouded leopards and a kind headkeeper who allowed me close access to his charges. I was able to handle the tamest - one which he had hand-reared. I was smitten. She climbed all over my head and shoulder - luckily in affection - and posed beautifully for sketches and photographs.

Four things struck me about this curious animal: first, its beautiful coat with the large, irregular spots, dark at one end and fading to a paler color at the other-like clouds, hence the name; second, its almost disproportionately long tail which acts as a counterbalance for climbing; third, its very large canines for which I could not elicit an explanation and fourth, its extraordinary agility as it moved at speed through the high branches.

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