Clouded Leopard

The clouded leopard, like the snow leopard, is one of those that is somewhere between the small cats and the great cats in that it cannot purr like the small cats and it cannot roar like the true great cats. The clouded leopard gets its name from the distinctive cloud like markings on its body, head, legs and tail. The inside color of the clouds are darker than the background color, and sometimes they are dotted with small black spots. Black and pale white individuals have been reported in the wild. The legs and belly are marked with large back ovals and the back of the neck is marked with two thick black bars. Its eyes are yellow. The tail, which is as long as the head and body length, is thick and plush with black rings. The average body length is between two to three feet in length. The clouded leopard is a short legged cat with the hind legs being longer than the front. It has an elongated skull that is different from all other cats, placing it in a separate genus. Its canines are the largest of all the cats in proportion to its body size. It is sometimes referred