They are 29-43 in. They have a golden colored coat with a creamy underside, and their body is covered by large black rosettes. They also have the longest tail relative to body size. This long, thick tail is thought to help them keep balance in the trees. Clouded leopards have a long, stocky body set on short stocky legs, which are also characteristics of arboreal animals.
Clouded leopards live in the tropical forests of southern China, and the Indonesian Islands.
They dwell in the trees, and are the most arboreal cats. There numbers in the wild are not known. They ambush their prey from the trees, by hanging on with their hind legs and falling on them. They are solitary animals. The females use old trees with cavities as dens.