The clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa, categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, occurs from the Himalayan foothills in Nepal through mainland South-east Asia into China (Grassman et al., Reference Grassman, Lynam, Mohamad, Duckworth, Bora and Wilcox2016). In Nepal the species is believed to occur along the mid-hills eastwards of Langtang National Park (Nowell & Jackson, Reference Nowell and Jackson1996). The species has been reported to occur in the protected areas of Annapurna Conservation Area, Chitwan National Park, Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, and Langtang, Makalu–Barun, Rara and Shivapuri Nagarjun National Parks (Jnawali et al., Reference Jnawali, Baral, Lee, Acharya, Upadhyay and Pandey2011; Pandey, Reference Pandey2012; Ghimirey et al., Reference Ghimirey, Acharya, Adhikary, Werhahn and Appel2013; Lamichhane et al., Reference Lamichhane, Dhakal, Subedi and Pokheral2014; D.W. Macdonald, pers. comm.). However, the claim that Rara National Park holds a clouded leopard population seems to be based on a single record of a misidentified leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis pelt and can thus be discounted. The record of a clouded leopard in Annapurna Conservation Area at a straight-line distance of 170 km west of Langtang National Park in 2012 is the confirmed westernmost limit of the species’ distribution (Nowell & Jackson, Reference Nowell and Jackson1996; Ghimirey et al., Reference Ghimirey, Acharya, Adhikary, Werhahn and Appel2013). There have been reports of clouded leopards from Kailali district (Jnawali et al., Reference Jnawali, Baral, Lee, Acharya, Upadhyay and Pandey2011), Ghodaghodi Lake (Jnawali et al., Reference Jnawali, Baral, Lee, Acharya, Upadhyay and Pandey2011), Khaptad National Park (Khaptad National Park Management Plan, unpublished) and Api-Nampa Conservation Area (DNPWC, 2012). However, the reliability of reports west of Annapurna Conservation Area needs to be verified before drawing conclusions about the species’ westward distribution.

The first study of the clouded leopard in Nepal was conducted in 2009 but the species was not recorded by camera trap for the first time until 2010, in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park (Ghimirey et al., Reference Ghimirey, Ghimire, Pal, Koirala, Acharya, Dahal and Appel2012; Pandey, Reference Pandey2012). The species was subsequently recorded by camera trap in Annapurna Conservation Area and Chitwan National Park in 2012 and 2013, respectively (Ghimirey et al., Reference Ghimirey, Acharya, Adhikary, Werhahn and Appel2013; Lamichhane et al., Reference Lamichhane, Dhakal, Subedi and Pokheral2014). A study conducted in 2015 detected the clouded leopard in Langtang National Park, as had been suggested previously (Nowell & Jackson, Reference Nowell and Jackson1996). Table 1 presents all records and unconfirmed reports of the clouded leopard in Nepal and Fig. 1 shows their location. Prior to these detections the species had not been detected in some previous studies, generating speculation that it might have gone extinct in the country. However, false absences may be attributed to the short duration of the studies and small study areas, as the clouded leopard is an elusive species. The species also has a small core area of use, which could further hinder detection, particularly if camera traps are deployed in places outside this core area and the duration of study is short. In Thailand the clouded leopard's core area of use has been calculated to be 2.9–6.0 ± SD 2.1 km², with home ranges of up to 51 km² (Grassman et al., Reference Grassman, Tewes, Silvy and Kreetiyutanont2005; Austin et al., Reference Austin, Tewes, Grassman and Silvy2007). The species’ core area of use could be similar in Nepal, considering the similar mountainous terrain. In Nepal only one study of the clouded leopard has covered an area of > 50 km² (Pandey, Reference Pandey2012). It is imperative to conduct studies covering larger areas to reduce the probability of false absences.

Fig. 1 Records (Numbers refer to Table 1) of the clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa in Nepal.

Table 1 All available confirmed records of the clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa in Nepal (see numbered locations in Fig. 1), with year, location, geographical coordinates, altitude, type of evidence, and source of data. Blank cells indicate no data were available.

* Verified from photographic evidence

The preferred habitat of clouded leopards has long been debated. Although the species is most strongly associated with primary tropical forest (Nowell & Jackson, Reference Nowell and Jackson1996; Brodie & Giordano, Reference Brodie and Giordano2012), clouded leopards have also been recorded in secondary forest, dry tropical forest, scrub and grassland, and mangrove swamps (Davies & Payne, Reference Davies and Payne1982; Dinerstein & Mehta, Reference Dinerstein and Mehta1989; Rabinowitz & Walker, Reference Rabinowitz and Walker1991). In Nepal, it has been suggested that the Mahabharat range is the best habitat for the species (C. McDougal, 1992, unpubl. data), which may be found at 1,000–2,500 m elevation (Upreti, Reference Upreti1999). However, clouded leopards have also been reported from marginal scrub forest in the Eastern Terai, subtropical broad-leaved forest in central Nepal and tropical broad-leaved forest in the lowlands (Dinerstein & Mehta, Reference Dinerstein and Mehta1989; Ghimirey et al., Reference Ghimirey, Acharya, Adhikary, Werhahn and Appel2013; Lamichhane et al., Reference Lamichhane, Dhakal, Subedi and Pokheral2014). Prey availability has been reported as a major factor influencing the occurrence of clouded leopards (Rabinowitz et al., Reference Rabinowitz, Andau and Chai1987; Mohamad et al., Reference Mohamad, Rayan, Christopher, Hamirul, Mohamad, Lau and Siwan2015). The species has been shown to use a wider range of habitats than previously thought (Mohamad et al., Reference Mohamad, Rayan, Christopher, Hamirul, Mohamad, Lau and Siwan2015), and has been recorded in forests close to highly populated areas such as Kathmandu, Chitwan and Pokhara. Although the species appears to tolerate some degree of disturbance, it is important that well-connected habitat patches remain for use and dispersal. Little is yet known of the species' ecology in lower quality habitats.

Illegal trade in the clouded leopard is prevalent in Nepal, but there are fewer cases than in South-east Asian countries (Nowell, Reference Nowell2007), although the number of cases has increased since 2006 (Table 1). Official data on wildlife trade can be misleading (Niraj, Reference Niraj2009); for example, many cases of illegal wildlife trade in Nepal go unrecorded because of the porous international border with India (Das, Reference Das2008). Even the comparatively more regulated border with China has army stations at only a few locations because of the harsh geographical conditions. Although retaliatory killings have been reported to be one of the primary threats to the clouded leopard (Jnawali et al., Reference Jnawali, Baral, Lee, Acharya, Upadhyay and Pandey2011), we found only one case of retaliatory killing of the species. We therefore suggest that retaliatory killing is probably not the most important threat to the species, as it is to the leopard Panthera pardus in Nepal.

The clouded leopard is perceived to be rare in Nepal, where it is considered to be threatened by habitat loss and degradation, and illegal wildlife trade. However, camera trapping results indicate that its frequency of occurrence and range may be increasing (Sanderson et al., Reference Sanderson, Khan, Grassman and Mallon2008; Ghimirey et al., Reference Ghimirey, Acharya, Adhikary, Werhahn and Appel2013). The species has also been confirmed in areas where its presence was previously unknown, including Annapurna Conservation Area, Chitwan National Park and Shivapuri Nagarjuna National Park (Pandey, Reference Pandey2012; Ghimirey et al., Reference Ghimirey, Acharya and Dahal2014; Lamichhane et al., Reference Lamichhane, Dhakal, Subedi and Pokheral2014). These findings, in particular the recent camera-trap records, indicate that further research is required to clarify the distribution and status of the clouded leopard in Nepal, and that there is potential for research on the metapopulation dynamics of the species and its interactions with other felid species.