<i>Clouded Leopard found </i>

This cub of a thought-to-be-extinct clouded leopard was captured in Rangamati recently. Experts say that the species is hardly seen due to loss of habitat. Photo: Courtesy

A Clouded Leopard cub, critically endangered for Bangladesh, is now in captivity of some indigenous people near Barkal of Rangamati.
Sources said the locals captured the cub in last week of June and Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB) is trying to secure its release into the forest.
The locals saw the mother-leopard with its two cubs was feeding on a monkey, according to the sources.
They chased the leopard family and captured one cub while the mother and the other cub managed to escape.
WTB Chief Executive Professor Md Anwarul Islam said for many years it was thought that the clouded leopard went extinct from Bangladesh for habitat loss and decline of prey species.
Earlier in Bangladesh, it was found in the hills of Sherpur, Netrokona, Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
The Clouded Leopard is a solitary, nocturnal and arboreal animal and is one of the least studied cats due to its secretive nature. The species is found in almost all of South and Southeast Asian countries. However, its population is rated as vulnerable globally. It is included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix I, means international trade in this species is banned.