Quick answer
Mainland clouded leopards live in tropical and subtropical forest from the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia. Sunda clouded leopards live only on Borneo and Sumatra. They are not African leopards. IUCN: Vulnerable. Figures checked 13 August 2026.
Which forest — mainland or islands?
Mainland N. nebulosa: Himalayan foothills through Northeast India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia’s peninsula, and parts of China and Indochina — with local extinctions. Sunda N. diardi: Borneo and Sumatra only. “Tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia” as one blob hid the species split.
What microhabitats do they use?
Closed-canopy forest, including some logged stands, with trees for resting and understorey for ambush. Oil-palm edges are not “edge habitat opportunity.” They disappear where forest is cleared.
How do people shrink the map?
Conversion to plantations, roads that open snare lines, and the pelt trade. This is not a suburban-deer story. Fragmentation isolates cats across a map that already holds two species.
What does Vulnerable geography require?
Forest that still connects, and patrols that pull snares. Watch from a distance; never bait. A 2021 Vulnerable label is not a reason to open the map.
Do cloud spots move the range?
No. The coat names the cat. It does not replant Borneo.
Why keep the Sunda split on a range page?
Because a mainland census cannot count Sumatra. WARN’s habitat appeal funds partner forest work — not a tiger appeal.
Sources
Clouded Leopard FAQs
Where do clouded leopards live?
Mainland clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa) live in tropical and subtropical forest from the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia. Sunda clouded leopards (N. diardi) live only on Borneo and Sumatra. They are not African leopards and not a farms-and-suburbs species. IUCN: Vulnerable.
Are mainland and Sunda clouded leopards the same map?
No. They are separate species. A Sabah camera trap does not protect Nepal. Oil palm and snare lines punch holes in both maps. A zoo enclosure is not a range country.
Do they live with tigers or leopards?
Mainland forests can hold tigers, leopards and clouded leopards in the same landscape. They are still different species with different IUCN ledgers. Mixing them produces the false story that a tiger reserve automatically counts Neofelis.
What actually protects clouded leopard range?
Standing forest, anti-snare patrols, and corridors. World Animal Rescue Network funds habitat-protection partners — not a tiger appeal.
Who this page is for.This page is native range and habitat, not a sighting hotline.