BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The clouded leopard of Borneo, already on the U.N. endangered species list, is being driven closer to extinction by poaching and habitat loss, researchers say.
In Brunei, one of the three countries on the island of Borneo, killing clouded leopards or selling their body parts is already illegal under the country's Wildlife Protection Act -- but wildlife experts say people either do not know about the law or simply don't care, ScientificAmerican.com reported Tuesday.
"I was told by some local hunters that they would kill them and sell their skin for several thousand U.S. dollars," Ang Lee Bian of the University Brunei Darussalam says.
The World Wildlife Fund says Bornean clouded leopards are highly valued for their pelts and teeth, the largest of any feline species, and their bones are used in traditional Asian medicine.
Clouded leopard pelts have been found for sale in China, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal and Thailand, the WWF says.
Large areas of the leopard's forest habitats on Borneo are being cut down, both for illegal lumber and to make room for palm tree plantations, forcing leopards closer to human settlements, which endangers them further, experts say.
