Clouded Leopard Working Group Visit To Nepal

My name is Alice Vassallo, I’m a Zookeeper and lover of Clouded Leopards ever since I started working with them in 2021. While working at Shepreth Wildlife Park, I was absolutely fascinated by our two females that came to us from Rhenen Zoo, in the Netherlands, and I knew I wanted to find out everything I could about this incredible species.

In November 2022, I was asked to be on the Clouded Leopard species committee, which I excitedly accepted. The studbook keeper, Lauren, had seen how passionate I was about them and even though I only had experience with our 2 girls, I wanted to rise to the challenge and help however I could.

By chance in 2023, I was vacationing in India, and was thinking of adding Nepal to my list of countries to visit. Lauren had told me about the Clouded Leopard Working Group, who were based out there, and I decided that I would reach out to them to see if they needed any equipment or supplies that I could bring over. This turned in to the “Camera Traps for Cloudies” campaign that I ran at Shepreth, which saw me bring over not only camera traps for the CLWG, but other equipment as well, in addition to raising awareness about the mission of the CLWG.

I flew out, dropped off the equipment, and had an incredible time with Ganga Ram Regmi and Mitra Pandey, the coordinators of the group, who were so generous with their time and support while I was visiting for the first time. They asked me to be the Ambassador of the group in November 2023, and I was absolutely delighted to accept.

After running a fundraising campaign in 2024 to support the Anti Poaching Units that the CLWG were building, Ganga invited me to present at a Small Wild Cat conference taking place just outside of Kathmandu, Nepal. Lauren and I were thrilled to go over and speak about what we do with Clouded Leopards, as well as listen to the moving and inspiring talks done by colleagues from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and more. These talks showed first hand how passionate these conservationists were about protecting not only Clouded Leopards, but species such as Fishing Cats, Pallas’ Cats, Rusty Spotted Cats – truly, it was a small cat lover’s dream to hear about their experiences and to sit in the room with such dedicated and inspiring individuals.

After the conference, Lauren and I were whisked away to Eastern Nepal, to Ilam. It was here that we experienced what Clouded Leopard territory looked like, as well as sleeping in a traditional Nepali homestay. On the edge of the forest, in a small home with no electricity – until we arrived with solar panels to donate to them – Lauren and I learned more about the home of the Clouded Leopard, as well as meeting the local communities who had been using the Clouded Leopard Working Group beekeeping kits to source honey as an extra means of income. Everyone was so welcoming, and we even got to see the small studio where the hives are made. Seeing the work that the CLWG do first hand was very validating, it was great to see the passion and the impact of their work in person.

However, the most breath taking part of the trip was saved until last, and that was braving Clouded Leopard (and Common Leopard!) territory to hike through the quiet forests of eastern Nepal, all with the goal of finding Red Pandas. Our incredible trip ended with us seeing 3 Red Pandas playing together in the wild, a rare occurrence as it was a mother and large cubs. Local guides woke up early in the morning to scout ahead and let Ganga and the team know where the Red Pandas were located. After getting word from the guides, and hustling on a seemingly never ending hike upwards through bamboo forests (which is a LOT harder than it looks, even for the fittest amongst us), we scrambled to the top of a plateau and, exhausted, watched Red Pandas bumbling through the trees, like some sort of adorable, fluffy forest spirit.

For anyone thinking of heading out to Ilam themselves, for a trip with the Red Panda Network,  or even replicating what Lauren and I did with the Clouded Leopard Working Group, I can honestly say it is absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was humbling, it was hard, but it was so worth it, and to walk the same paths as Clouded Leopards was an absolute privilege. Time away from mobile phones, screens, emails, commutes, and workplace drama helped us have a complete reset on our priorities, and gave our brains the much needed rest from the hum-drum of day-to-day life.

10/10 – would absolutely recommend. Take the plunge if you’re thinking of getting out there and seeing the world. You won’t regret it.