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An Elusive Clouded Leopard, Ready For Its Closeup

Our Twitter-buddies at have highlighted a video that might help you enjoy a few seconds of the newsday: a first-of-its kind video of "nature's most elusive big cat." The Sumatran Sundaland clouded leopard was given its own distinct species label in 2007.

It's only 14 seconds, but the markings on this leopard are amazing. The cats aren't often photographed, especially because they are believed to be primarily nocturnal. Here's the video, from the New Scientist site:

Shot by a remote camera trap in the jungle, the video originally came from the Zoological Society of London.

Other than its rarity, the cat has another claim to fame: its canines grow up to two inches, which is huge for a cat this size. And scientists believe that only between 3,000 to 7,000 of the clouded leopards exist on Sumatra.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.