Animal encounter with a 9-month old Clouded Leopard Cub (Neofelis nebulat) the Rare Species Conservation Centre Sandwich Kent.
The Rare Species Conservation Centre (RSCC) was a conservation centre and zoological gardens situated just outside Sandwich in Kent, England, operated by The Rare Species Conservation Trust, a UK registered charity. Its purpose was to educate visitors and create awareness of the plight of some of the world’s lesser-known rare and endangered species of animal. It was home to rare and unusual animals. It closed due to lack of funds on 31st August 2015. The ( ha) zoo consists of two major areas, an indoor covered rainforest and outdoor geographic areas, each divided into areas corresponding to the geographical groupings of the animals. The indoor rainforest houses the collection of Australasian animals and those from South and Central America. It has a large stream running in a circular path throughout the exhibit, with two waterfalls and two large ponds. The exterior has two main areas, one devoted to the fauna of Madagascar, and the other to animals from South-East Asia The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is a cat found from the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia into China, and has been classified as Vulnerable in 2008 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its total population size is suspected to be fewer than 10,000 mature individuals, with a decreasing population trend, and no single population numbering more than 1,000 adults. The clouded leopard is considered to form an evolutionary link between the big cats and the small cats. It represents the smallest of the big cats, but is not closely related to the leopard. The Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) found on Sumatra and Borneo is genetically distinct and has been considered a separate species since 2006. The fur of clouded leopards is of a dark grey or ochreous ground-colour, often largely obliterated by black and dark dusky-grey blotched pattern. There are black spots on the head, and the ears are black.
Size: 3802px × 3463px
Location: Rare Species Conservation Centre, Bellars Bush, A256 Dover Road Roundabout, CT13 0DG Sandwich, Kent
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: animal, beautful, beautiful, cat, centre, claws, clouded, conservation, cub, cute, ears, encounter, eyes, fur, gardens, head, keeper, kent, legs, leopard, mammal, nebulosi, neofelis, nose, pretty, rare, sandwich, species, trust, woman, young, zoological
