The clouded leopard is the most ancient type of cat alive today and its genetic blue print is shared by all cats. Every feline species alive today shares the clouded leopard’s razor sharp canines, heightened senses and their extreme agility.
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They are the most ancient type of cat alive today.
Their genetic blue print is shared by all cats.
This is the clouded leopard.
They are key to understanding how cats evolved and spread across the planet.
But they are now so rare, little is known about them.
'Good girl.'
Bill Wood is a clouded leopard expert at a special breeding center in Thailand.
His work could help save them from extinction.
'It's incredibly important to breed these cats in captivity because there's very little known about them in the wild.'
'We do know that the population is dwindling.'
'Most of their habitat is being destroyed.'
'And it's really a safeguard in case the worst did ever happen, as has happened to some cats species, that they become extinct in the wild at least we'll have some population here.'
All cats share the clouded leopard's razor sharp canines, heightened senses and their extreme agility.
'They've got short legs so they've got a low center of gravity, close to the branch, they've got incredibly long tails for balance.'
'The speed they move through the branches sometimes you think they're more like monkeys than cats.'