Lon Grassman with an adult male leopard captured for radio collaring in the Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand.
Clouded leopards are elusive and difficult to study in their native habitat.
Photos such as this one are extremely rare. Project Survival received a proposal from Lon Grassman, Jr., M.Sc., an American working for the Department of Forest Biology at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand. Lon is a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group who has done field work on the Asiatic golden cat, the Indochinese leopard and the leopard cat. The objective of the study, like those conducted by Pro-Carniveros in Brazil, is to collect data on mammalian carnivore ecology as a basis for the implementation of conservation strategies. Lon captured and radio collared this female clouded leopard in April of 2000.