New species of big cat

 
Discovery of a new species, The clouded leopard of Borneo, is the latest in a growing list of animals and plants unique to the South-East Asian country's rainforest and underscores the need to preserve the area.Genetic tests by researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute revealed that the clouded leopard of Borneo and Sumatra islands is a unique cat species and not the same one found in mainland South-East Asia as long believed, said a statement by WWF, the global conservation organisation. The secretive clouded leopards are the biggest predators on Borneo, growing sometimes to the size of a small panther. They have the longest canine teeth relative to body size of any cat. The Heart of Borneo, a mountainous region covered with equatorial rainforest, is the last great forest home of the Bornean Clouded Leopard.


(The Hindu, 16th March , 2007)