LOL! Not a favorite meal, I guess!
Crikey! I just worked up a sweat! I was going to buy another storage tub, thinking it would be good to hold my clothes, and then I thought I may be able to juggle some stuff in the other ones I’ve had since I moved here, and sure enough. Between the donation pile and the trash, I emptied out a large storage tub.
Then I ordered a dozen different-sized Space Bags from Amazon, and will place my clothes in the Space Bags and put them in the tub I just emptied, since I don’t think I’ll find another large box at Walmart. I need the one I have for the VHS-to-DVD recorder/player to fit in.
I’m so close to being done with the packing the excitement is killing me. I have to exercise control, though, and rest in between a day a packing so I don’t get sick. The last thing I need is a relapse!
Welp, time to close down and head out the door. Since the Lawn Guy was here yesterday, I have to take the cover off the windshield.
That sounds pretty exciting! Good luck at Walmart!
Today’s special animal friend is the clouded leopard, Neofelis nebulosa. The clouded leopard is not closely related to the regular leopard or the snow leopard, both of which are in the genus Panthera. DNA analysis suggests that the clouded leopards (including the Sundan clouded leopard, Neofelis diardi) were the first established genus to diverge from the Ur-cat, the hypothetical ancestor of all Felidae. They are the most ancient of the subfamily Pantherinae, the large wild cats.
The clouded leopard lives in forests in South Asia, from the foothills of the Himalayas south into India and east into Indochina and parts of China. Once found in Singapore and Taiwan, it has been eradicated from those islands. They are small for a large wild cat, with females growing up to 37 inches long (head and body) and males over 40 inches. They can weight up to 50 lbs., and their tails are nearly as long as their bodies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2rhK7bSLg0
Clouded leopards occupy a variety of forested habitats, from mangrove swamps in Borneo to elevations up to 10,000 in the Himalayas. They prefer undisturbed, primary forests, but they have been observed – mainly by cameras or spoor – in second-growth and degraded forests. They feed on a variety of mammals and birds, including wild boar and primates such as the macaque. With the longest canine teeth (relative to skull size) of any feline and a mandible opening over 100 degrees, their jaws are adapted to kill prey larger than themselves; they eat the meat, cartilage, and marrow of bones. They are exceptionally good at climbing and leaping and can descend trees head-down, like squirrels.
Interesting information about feeding them in captivity is found here, also pictures:
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/clouded-leopard
Clouded leopards’ mating habits have rarely (to never) been observed in the wild. Ovulation in the female can occur spontaneously or following copulation. Males can use force and cause injury to the females. Captive breeding is challenging! When successful mating occurs, gestation is around three months, and two or three cubs are usually born. Cubs are independent after around two years, but the mother may have another litter while late-adolescents are still around.
In captivity, all clouded leopard cubs are hand-reared to maximize their survival rate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prz8Oxb4vQQ
Clouded leopards are listed as Vulnerable by IUCN. They are on CITES Appendix 1 and are protected by national governments throughout most of their range. Enforcement varies. Poaching clearly occurs, since skins and other parts can be found in markets in Thailand and other nations. Habitat loss/fragmentation is a significant threat. The healthiest population seems to be in Borneo, which lacks other large cats and supports large areas of forest.
International Clouded Leopard Day is August 4. Have cake!