Island of Taiwan has high potential for clouded leopard reintroduction: Study

The island of Taiwan from which the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), a medium-sized felid, has been extirpated, is highly suitable for reintroduction of the species, a new story has suggested.

Some 38 per cent of Taiwanese territory is potentially suitable habitat for the clouded leopard, according to the authors of the new research. Of this 46 per cent is under protection, they added.

The clouded leopard is found across South and Southeast Asia. But it is threatened throughout its range, primarily because of habitat loss and fragmentation, prey exploitation and poaching. The species is categorised as ‘Vulnerable’ on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List.

Why did the species go extinct on the island, once known as Formosa? According to the Government of Taiwan, “Several factors are responsible for the probable extinction of the species － poaching, trade in its pelts, which was especially prevalent during the period of Japanese rule of Taiwan (1895-1945), destruction of its primary habitat, and elimination of its natural prey － all played a part.”

The latest study notes that, “During 1997-2012, an extensive camera-trap survey of Taiwan’s mountainous interior, believed to be the species’ last stronghold on the island, did not find any evidence of the felid, and it was concluded the species had been extirpated decades earlier, probably as a result of deforestation and overexploitation of both the clouded leopard and its prey.”

Can it come back?

According to the authors of the latest study, populations of many of Taiwan’s mammals are now recovering. This is primarily because of an increase in forest cover across the island and the prohibition of hunting in the 1970s.

Given the current circumstances, there are plans to bring back the clouded leopard to Taiwan, where the Formosan Clouded Leopard was once extant.

This idea is being helmed by a team led by the Clouded Leopard Association of Taiwan and supported by international experts from Panthera, the IUCN Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group and The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.

“However, the programme is hampered by a lack of analysis of potential suitable clouded leopard habitat on the island,” the authors of the current study said.

The current study

The researchers used “a multi-scale, multivariate habitat selection model based on clouded leopard presence–absence data from extensive camera-trap surveys across its current range to predict suitable habitat in Taiwan”.

Traditionally, the main island of Taiwan (or Formosa in Japanese colonial times) was the easternmost part of the clouded leopard’s range.

The main island, with an area of 36,000 sq km, is a relatively large, rugged and mountainous island that supports a diverse range of habitats, from lowland tropical forest to alpine grassland.

“Despite significant development in the lowland and coastal regions, over 60% of the island is classified as forest and large swathes of continuous forest persist in the upland interior,” according to the paper.

The researchers found that a large, continuous area of 13,854 sq km (38 per cent of the island’s landmass) in Taiwan’s hilly and mountainous interior, is composed of moderately (10,041 sq km) and highly (3,813 sq km) suitable habitat for the clouded leopard, as per their model.

“Taiwan’s substantial habitat protection, coupled with low hunting pressure, suggests it could be suitable for reintroduction of the clouded leopard,” the researchers concluded.

A multi-scale, multivariate habitat selection model demonstrates high potential for the reintroduction of the clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa to Taiwan has been published in the journal Oryx