Did you know that our planet is currently experiencing the sixth mass extinction of animals, plants, and species? It’s actually going 1,000 to 10,000 times of the normal rate. So you could imagine how exciting it was when the thought to be extinct Taiwanese Formosan Clouded Leopard suddenly appeared after last being spotted in 1983.
Since the 13th century, these leopards have been around. Indigenous people would bring its fur to trade at the markets of port cities like Tainan. However, Japanese anthropologist Torii Ryūzō is the only recorded non-indigenous person ever having seen such a leopard in 1990.
A field survey was accomplished between 1990 and 1993 on the leopards in the nature reserve using 400 cameras. With a total of 16,000 photos, there was no trace of them. Then in 2001 to 2013 a team of zoologist surveyed the region and still did not find a single trace. So, they declared the Formosan clouded leopard officially extinct.
Professor Liu Chiung-hsi, from the Department of Life Science at the National Taitung University, was not surprised that the Leopard hasn’t been spotted in so long, because it’s vigilant and very difficult to catch. Furthermore, Liu believed that this animal still did exist.
Professor Liu also mentioned that a group of hunters from the indigenous Bunun people admitted killing several of these leopards in the late 1990s. Out of fear, they burned their bodies so they wouldn’t get in trouble from violating the Taiwanese Wildlife Conservation Act.
In 2018 the Leopard was spotted on two separate occasions. Rangers saw more than one cat hunting goats on a cliff, while another group saw one dart past their scooter before quickly climbing up a tree and disappearing. These sightings are extremely significant to the local people, the Leopard is a sacred spirit to the Paiwan tribe. They are now holding meetings to discuss the sightings and how to prevent outsiders from hunting them. They also asked the authorities to stop logging and to end other activities that may harm the land, so the leopards could come out from hiding.
Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau released its latest Schedule of Protected Wildlife in January. The Formosan clouded leopard is still listed as category I. Chao Ren-fang, a professor at the Institute of Biology at I-Shou University, who was involved in the conservation listing review, said, “It would be a big event to remove the Formosa clouded leopard from the list.” It would require taking into consideration societal perceptions as there could be a backlash from the indigenous community, he added.
The Formosan Clouded Leopard wouldn’t be the first extinct animal that suddenly appeared after years of never being spotted. Just recently in Galápagos National Park, the Fernandina giant tortoise (last seen in 1906), was spotted by rangers. The Tasmanian Tiger from Australia had been spotted after declared extinct in 1936. Sometimes animals just hide for years then pop up out of nowhere.
