The Borneo three leopard or Neofelis diardi, is about as different from the south Asian three leopard on mainland, Neofelis nebulosa, as lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards is from each other. (Neofelis means cat in Latin)

The three leopard, that lives on Borneo, the worlds third largest island, and Sumatra in Indonesia got its name from the WWF scientists as late as the 14th of March this year. Its spots almost look like clouds floating together. That is why it is also called the Bornean Clouded Leopard.

From 36 to 37 cat species

So now there are 37 cat species in the world and not 36 as earlier presumed. This news arrives only a few weeks after a WWF report that shows that scientists have identified at least 52 new animal and plant species over the last year in Borneo.

- This is an example of how unique Borneo’s nature is, and how important it is to preserve the remaining nature areas. Who knows what we will find next time? Says Rasmus Hansson, general secretary of WWF-Norway

Through the “Borneo heart” agreement, that was signed a few months ago, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei have made a commitment to preserve large parts of Borneo’s nature. That is good news for our new leopard friend.

The Borneo three leopard/ Neofelis diardi:

- Is a shy and uncanny cat that lives in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra
- There are between 5000 and 11000 of them in Borneo and about 3000 and 7000 in Sumatra.
- It can grow to be as big as a small leopard, that is about 25kg, and it has large dark spots that may look like clouds. This is the cat species with the longest corner teeth and the longest tail compared to its size.
- At Borneo it is at the top of the food chain. Their menu consists of monkeys, dears, pigs and sometimes birds and reptiles.
- It has traditionally been very appreciated by the natives at Borneo. They would never hunt the tree leopard, but said that when it was ready it would surrender. Only people of high rank could use their fur, and brave warriors would use their teeth as ear rings. Some ethnic groups would use their teeth for decorating baskets and for protecting their children against evil spirits. Sometimes the leopard was seen as a spirit who would show up and disappear as it pleased.

The difference between the species

- The differences are seen both in this DNA-study and in separate studies of variations in fur patterns and colours.
- It can be compared to the differences between large cat species like lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars and snow leopards.
- DNA tests shows about 40 nucleotide differences between the two species. Lions and Tigers have 56.
- The two species probably separated about 1,4million years ago. We recon that it takes about 1-2million years to develop a new species.
- The reason why the differences have taken so long to spot is that the tree leopards are very shy and are seldom observed. There are also few examples in museums and nature historical collections.