The incredibly beautiful species of the Formosa smoky leopard was declared extinct nine years ago, when no data had been received about it since 1983.
But more recently, this individual was spotted in the forests of Taiwan. This gives hope to animal lovers all over the world. After all , the outcome of this species was considered very sad.
These predators are almost impossible to detect. However, a team of rangers has been patrolling this region for decades to find these wild cats. And they were able to do it. Since 2008, these leopards have been listed in the Red Book as an endangered species.
Formosa leopards belong to the subspecies of smoky leopards and they are incredibly beautiful creatures.
Their appearance is not similar to any representative of the feline. They have gray spots on their fur, unusual eyes and their habitat is precisely the forests of Taiwan.
This area was inhabited by the Paiwan Aboriginal tribe, who believed that these forests were sacred. They called on the authorities to stop cutting them down so that the leopards
would come out of their hiding places.
Now the tribe is also cooperating with animal rights activists to cause minimal damage to rare species of animals and plants due to the actions of hunters and poachers, with whom there is a successful fight. But there is still a lot of work in this direction.
