They hunt from trees by jumping onto the back of their victim and on the ground by pouncing on their prey. It has been reported that males may kill females when placed in captivity together, unless they are introduced at a young age. This tendency causes problems for zoos and other keepers of clouded leopards because it is difficult to increase the number of captive animals and diversify the gene pool. To date only about 20 percent of the captive population has reproduced. The beautiful coat of the clouded leopard is very popular on the black market.
Cubs have different coloring than adults in that the large spots on their sides are completely dark.
Adults have rosette-like spots. Adults are dark brown to ocher-yellow with distinctive black stripes, spots and blotches. The forehead and top of the head have no spots. Six black lines run down the body from the nape of the neck to the flank where the stripes fade into blotches or rosettes. The tail is long, bushy and ringed and tipped with black.