7 ms·

'Extinct' Formosan clouded leopard spotted in Taiwan

126 points by ilamont 8y ago

organicdude 8y ago
This makes me incredibly happy for some reason. I lived in Taiwan for a year after I graduated college and I found their jungles to be difficult to navigate because of the mountainous terrain. It doesn't surprise me that they have been hiding out successfully for >10 years! What a beautiful animal with cool patterns.
- lsiebert 8y ago
  This makes me happy too. Anytime anyone or anything we thought was dead is found alive, that's a cause for celebration.
  - topmonk 8y ago
    Small pox! Yeaahhh!!
    - Radim 8y ago
      Beware! You entered the "cutesy animals, let's save the planet, everyone's cool man" territory with nuance, humour and wider perspective. People don't forgive that easily. If you want to be fun at parties, you can also try this: "What do you mean, 'YOLO, do what your heart tells you, no matter what they say'? Does that also apply to rapists and murderers?"
    - lsiebert 8y ago
      I'll make an exception for infectious diseases... certainly getting rid of smallpox was, and eventually getting rid of HIV will be, a cause for celebration.
  - thelittleone 8y ago
    Definitely. And in in the last two weeks, the worlds largest bee that was thought to be extinct was found again in Indonesia. Particularly good news given the global decline of many bee species. [1] And a type of tortoise thought to be extinct was seen for the first time in 106 years. [2] 1.https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/02/21/Worlds-biggest-bee-thought-extinct-rediscovered-in-Indonesia/6641550765035/ https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/02/21/Worlds-biggest-b... 2. https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/tortoise-thought-extinct-discovered-galapagos-islands-61215358 https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/tortoise-thought-extinct-dis...
- MisterOctober 8y ago
  Totally! The clouded leopard is one of my favorite big cats. That's two great pieces of "species persists" news in a week! A few days ago, it was the giant bee: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47311186 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47311186
  - Klathmon 8y ago
    3! https://mashable.com/article/fernandina-giant-tortoise-galapagos-extinct-discovery https://mashable.com/article/fernandina-giant-tortoise-galap...
    - geowwy 8y ago
      It gives me hope we might find a thylacine one day. There have been a number of unconfirmed sightings including videos and photographs.
      - abraae 8y ago
        That would be fantastic, but I would be happy if someone else was to actually come across it in the bush rather than me.
      - ForHackernews 8y ago
        Really good article on that topic: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/02/the-obsessive-search-for-the-tasmanian-tiger https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/02/the-obsessive-...
    - larkeith 8y ago
      What fantastic news! > The tortoise is said to be in good health, but underweight. It is believed that she is about 100 years old. I suppose it's easier to have relict populations survive without inbreeding issues when they've got century-plus lifespans. I'm glad they've relocated the tortoise to a breeding center - hopefully we'll be able to preserve them!
    - MisterOctober 8y ago
bitxbitxbitcoin 8y ago
They are going to do a scientific study to try and confirm their return from extinction. The last such study lasted thirteen years and yielded zero sightings.
blisterpeanuts 8y ago
This is great news. The fact that it's been about thirty years since the last official sighting (according to Wikipedia), suggests that there is still a breeding population and not just one or two geriatric survivors. Now one can only hope that the local population won't think of them as a valuable trophy prize or maybe of medicinal value, to be shot on sight.
- philliphaydon 8y ago
  I don’t think Taiwan is like China in that regard. I’m more inclined to think taiwan would do everything it can to protect them.
nyjah 8y ago
Forest Galante travels the world and searches for animals that people think are extinct, but not in the cryptozoology sense. He was recently on the jre podcast, its a great listen. He Also hosts the show Extinct Or Alive on Animal Planet. The 7th episode was about this exact animal. jre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT0ZIq-yWEM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT0ZIq-yWEM https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/extinct-or-alive/ https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/extinct-or-alive/
seshagiric 8y ago
I always have one question about such discoveries. Is it that the some mating pairs of the species somehow escaped being seen and were thought to be extinct or is it some magic of nature that the species got reborn somehow!! May be there is an XKCD line about this already :)
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  No magic involved. Hide-and-seek is easy if there's only a couple of animals and an entire ecosystem to hide in.
ian0 8y ago
> the Alangyi Village set up a team of rangers to patrol traditional areas. > confirmed that rangers from the village had spotted the Formosan clouded leopard in person, but he was not at the liberty of disclosing the exact time and location of the sightings. > Alangyi Village elders also asked the Forestry Bureau to stop logging and other disruptive activities. This was managed extremely well by the village.
- mc32 8y ago
  Right, better than the previous time when the locals burned captured specimens for fear of retribution for having captured them 20 or so years ago. For sure, this time protocol was followed as should be expected.
uvesten 8y ago
Summary: Eyewitness accounts only, no photos, no verification in any way. Unfortunately, most likely the ”eyewitnesses” are mistaken, as in nearly all cases like these.

126 points by ilamont 8y ago

This makes me incredibly happy for some reason. I lived in Taiwan for a year after I graduated college and I found their jungles to be difficult to navigate because of the mountainous terrain. It doesn't surprise me that they have been hiding out successfully for >10 years! What a beautiful animal with cool patterns.

lsiebert 8y ago
This makes me happy too. Anytime anyone or anything we thought was dead is found alive, that's a cause for celebration.
- topmonk 8y ago
  Small pox! Yeaahhh!!
  - Radim 8y ago
    Beware! You entered the "cutesy animals, let's save the planet, everyone's cool man" territory with nuance, humour and wider perspective. People don't forgive that easily. If you want to be fun at parties, you can also try this: "What do you mean, 'YOLO, do what your heart tells you, no matter what they say'? Does that also apply to rapists and murderers?"
  - lsiebert 8y ago
    I'll make an exception for infectious diseases... certainly getting rid of smallpox was, and eventually getting rid of HIV will be, a cause for celebration.
- thelittleone 8y ago
  Definitely. And in in the last two weeks, the worlds largest bee that was thought to be extinct was found again in Indonesia. Particularly good news given the global decline of many bee species. [1] And a type of tortoise thought to be extinct was seen for the first time in 106 years. [2] 1.https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/02/21/Worlds-biggest-bee-thought-extinct-rediscovered-in-Indonesia/6641550765035/ https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/02/21/Worlds-biggest-b... 2. https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/tortoise-thought-extinct-discovered-galapagos-islands-61215358 https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/tortoise-thought-extinct-dis...
MisterOctober 8y ago
Totally! The clouded leopard is one of my favorite big cats. That's two great pieces of "species persists" news in a week! A few days ago, it was the giant bee: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47311186 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47311186
- Klathmon 8y ago
  3! https://mashable.com/article/fernandina-giant-tortoise-galapagos-extinct-discovery https://mashable.com/article/fernandina-giant-tortoise-galap...
  - geowwy 8y ago
    It gives me hope we might find a thylacine one day. There have been a number of unconfirmed sightings including videos and photographs.
    - abraae 8y ago
      That would be fantastic, but I would be happy if someone else was to actually come across it in the bush rather than me.
    - ForHackernews 8y ago
      Really good article on that topic: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/02/the-obsessive-search-for-the-tasmanian-tiger https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/02/the-obsessive-...
  - larkeith 8y ago
    What fantastic news! > The tortoise is said to be in good health, but underweight. It is believed that she is about 100 years old. I suppose it's easier to have relict populations survive without inbreeding issues when they've got century-plus lifespans. I'm glad they've relocated the tortoise to a breeding center - hopefully we'll be able to preserve them!
  - MisterOctober 8y ago

bitxbitxbitcoin 8y ago

They are going to do a scientific study to try and confirm their return from extinction. The last such study lasted thirteen years and yielded zero sightings.

blisterpeanuts 8y ago

This is great news. The fact that it's been about thirty years since the last official sighting (according to Wikipedia), suggests that there is still a breeding population and not just one or two geriatric survivors. Now one can only hope that the local population won't think of them as a valuable trophy prize or maybe of medicinal value, to be shot on sight.

philliphaydon 8y ago
I don’t think Taiwan is like China in that regard. I’m more inclined to think taiwan would do everything it can to protect them.

nyjah 8y ago

Forest Galante travels the world and searches for animals that people think are extinct, but not in the cryptozoology sense. He was recently on the jre podcast, its a great listen. He Also hosts the show Extinct Or Alive on Animal Planet. The 7th episode was about this exact animal. jre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT0ZIq-yWEM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT0ZIq-yWEM https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/extinct-or-alive/ https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/extinct-or-alive/

seshagiric 8y ago

I always have one question about such discoveries. Is it that the some mating pairs of the species somehow escaped being seen and were thought to be extinct or is it some magic of nature that the species got reborn somehow!! May be there is an XKCD line about this already :)

ceejayoz 8y ago
No magic involved. Hide-and-seek is easy if there's only a couple of animals and an entire ecosystem to hide in.

ian0 8y ago

> the Alangyi Village set up a team of rangers to patrol traditional areas. > confirmed that rangers from the village had spotted the Formosan clouded leopard in person, but he was not at the liberty of disclosing the exact time and location of the sightings. > Alangyi Village elders also asked the Forestry Bureau to stop logging and other disruptive activities. This was managed extremely well by the village.

mc32 8y ago
Right, better than the previous time when the locals burned captured specimens for fear of retribution for having captured them 20 or so years ago. For sure, this time protocol was followed as should be expected.

uvesten 8y ago

Summary: Eyewitness accounts only, no photos, no verification in any way. Unfortunately, most likely the ”eyewitnesses” are mistaken, as in nearly all cases like these.