Oldest wild Sunda clouded leopard ever recorded caught on camera in Borneo

Borneo: Camera trap footage has captured the oldest Sunda clouded leopard ever recorded in the wild — an 8.5-year-old female living in Borneo’s rainforests, offering a rare glimpse into one of the world’s most elusive wild cats.

The discovery comes from a new study that is the first to document a female’s lifespan in the wild. Researchers say the data also overturns assumptions about the species’ movement, with some individuals traveling up to 19 miles between forest reserves.

The study found another key difference: females are 68% harder to detect than males. Camera trap data shows why — females spend far more time in the trees. Their slender bodies and fluffier tails help them balance in the canopy. Males, in contrast, spend much of their time on the ground patrolling and re-marking territory, which is why they appear on camera more often.

Found only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the Sunda clouded leopard is known as a “ghost of the forest.” It is rarely seen and has the largest canine teeth relative to body size of any wild cat, drawing comparisons to saber-toothed cats.

The research was made possible by indigenous communities in Sabah, working with the state forestry and wildlife departments as rangers and community engagement officers for Panthera, the wild cat conservation organization that led the study.

The partnership began in 2020 with work on human-elephant conflict and expanded to include community reporting of illegal logging and, eventually, government-funded ranger stipends. Today, community members patrol dense terrain, run camera trap networks, and act as frontline guardians against poachers.

Conservationists say the footage and data provide crucial new information to help protect the Sunda clouded leopard, a species that remains threatened by habitat loss and poaching across its range.