‘Extinct’ Leopard Cub Discovered in Bangladesh
Conservationists in Bangladesh are thrilled after the discovery by local villagers of a clouded leopard cub, a species which was previously thought extinct in that country.
This is the first time a clouded leopard has been spotted in Bangladesh in 20 years. The cub, which was captured by the villagers, was seen with a sibling and their mother while they were eating a dead monkey. That means there may be a small but healthy breeding population surviving in the wild.
Only the one cub was captured, as the mother and other cub managed to escape. The villagers, who are from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeast Bangladesh, originally intended to cage and sell the leopard to the highest bidder, but once conservationists got wind of the story they were pressured to release it back into the wild.
Unfortunately, the report didn’t indicate how the cub was released back into the wild. It’s not clear whether the cub will fare well in the wild without being directly re-issued to its mother, a scenario which is pretty unlikely given the difficulty of locating the animal.
Even so, its discovery does bring renewed hope that the clouded leopard is still surviving and breeding in the remaining woodlands of Bangladesh. And the discovery should now revive conservation efforts to protect the species.
“We are delighted. For many years now, we had thought this animal was gone or was going,” said Professor Anwarul Islam, head of the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh. “It’s good to know that they are still there and that they are breeding.”
Source: The Independent
Image Credit: AFP/Getty
Good news! However, the articles would be much more informational if you could include the binomial names of the animals.
Regards
congratulation sir it’s really thankful to you that you save a life of one cub leopard. i am realy proud & happy to know this. best of luck to you for further success.
Whilst it’s good news the species isn’t extinct it’s a great shame this leopard isn’t safe with its mother.
After all these years, this is good news? The villagers still planned to kill it, and none of the puffed-up conservationists on hand were able to make sure it got back to its mother. No progress.
Maye he was better off being thought to be extinct
I hope the cub will be okay since its without its mother, they should’ve put it back where they found it.
This show clearly what a low-life humans are. They are devastating the earth. People who take an animal from its mother are deserving of extinction. That alone will make the earth whole.
Funny how the article says there “may” be a small breeding population.
It should be there “is”!!!!!
Have the conservationists who pressured the villagers to release the cub (without first providing for a safe return — that was badly done) doing anything further to discourage a similar capture?
Will these people stop trapping animals for sale?
I’m very uneasy about how this entire event unfolded.
I’m glad conservationists got involved.
But, what’s to prevent another clouded leopard cub from being trapped? The villagers WILL set out more traps — perhaps not intending to catch another clouded leopard, but the traps don’t care what kind of animal they trap.
Bangladesh is a poor country and villagers trap animals because it’s income. That needs to be addressed — or else this will continue.
And there has to be a better protocol to handle this — than to simply turn the cub loose. Paradoxically — it might have lived if it had been sold to a conservation group.
There are successful clouded leopard breeding programs at highly regarded zoos. Nobody wants to put the baby leopard in a zoo — but if it won’t find its mom and dies alone in the wild — what good has been done here?
A little planning might help the next baby that finds itself staring through the bars of a trap…at a human who stares back and sees nothing but dollars.
why wouldn’t they try to release it back to it’s mother? it could die then they would be somewhat a reason for it being an endangered or “extinct” species.