Rare trio of elusive predators spotted on trail camera in Thailand, video shows
Under the cover of darkness, a trio of predators walked through a forest in Thailand. Unbeknownst to them, someone — or something — was watching their movements.
The rare and elusive creatures were filmed on a trail camera in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary at about 2 a.m. local time Dec. 25, according to a Jan. 8 Facebook post from the sanctuary.
Wildlife officials identified the animals as a family of clouded leopards, the first such sighting at the sanctuary, according to a Facebook post from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
Video footage shows the elusive leopards. The first clip shows three clouded leopards walking past the trail camera. The felines pass by individually, one appearing right as the other vanishes into the darkness.
The second video clip, filmed about one minute later, shows the backside of one clouded leopard. The leopard is relatively close to the camera and holds very still. Behind it, the eyes of a second leopard appear to glow in the darkness. The second leopard looks around before walking toward the camera, the video shows. The video ends right as the closer leopard begins to move. The leopards appear to be hunting or stalking something off camera.
Clouded leopards, named for their dusky gray coats, are an endangered species of medium-sized cat that live in southeast Asia, according to the Thai National Parks. These predators hide in the trees during the day and hunt at night. They are generally “solitary” and “secretive” animals.
Only about 10,000 clouded leopards are left and continue to face threats such as poaching and deforestation, according to Thai National Parks.
Wildlife officials said the clouded leopard sighting at Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary is a positive sign for the species’ conservation in the area.
Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary is about 100 miles southeast of Bangkok.
Google Translate and Facebook Translate were used to translate the Facebook posts from Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary and Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Rare trio of elusive predators spotted on trail camera in Thailand, video shows."
