Creature record / 2019

Formosan clouded leopard sightings by the Alangyi village rangers

c. 2019 · Alangyi (Anshuo) traditional territory, Daren Township, Taitung County, Taiwan

22Thinly documented Cryptid Creature 31 sources 6 videos

Taitung County, south-eastern Taiwan. Rangers from Alangyi village patrol the forested mountains above the old coastal trail, watching for loggers. Then they see something that is not supposed to exist. A big cat walks in a tree. In the beam of a searchlight, it lunges at goats on a cliff. Another patrol watches an animal dart across the road in front of their scooters, climb a tree and vanish. The hunters describe its tail as especially thick and especially long. They believe it was a Formosan clouded leopard, the Li'uljaw of the Paiwan, considered extinct after a 13-year camera-trap search found nothing. No photograph exists. The question is still open.

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Key facts

When	c. 2019
Time of day	night (the searchlight sighting); the scooter sighting time not reported
Where	Alangyi (Anshuo) traditional territory, Daren Township, Taitung County,Taiwan
Duration	not recorded
Witnesses	6
Witness roles	civilians
Found
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	Taitung Forest District Office, Forestry Bureau (pledged verification, no result published)
Status	undisputed

The creature

A clouded leopard, much larger than a leopard cat, with a tail the hunters called especially thick and especially long. In one sighting it walked in a tree and pounced toward goats on a cliff in a searchlight. In the other it darted across in front of moving scooters, climbed a nearby tree and vanished.

Context

The Formosan clouded leopard once roamed Taiwan's mountains. The Paiwan call it Li'uljaw. To the Rukai it is a guardian spirit, the animal their ancestors followed to their homeland.

Sources (31, most influential first)

Extinct Formosan clouded leopard spotted in Taiwan (from CNA) · Taiwan News· 2019-02-23 · Press, book, documentary · news
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2019/02/26/2003710440 · Taipei Times· 2019-02-26 · Press, book, documentary · news
Formosan clouded leopard · Wikipedia · Wiki, blog, podcast · wiki
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/taiwan-extinct-leopard-subspecies-allegedly-seen-by-rangers/ · Mongabay· 2019-03-02 · Press, book, documentary · news
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3645555 · Taiwan News· 2019-02-25 · Press, book, documentary · news

Reputability

22/100Thinly documented

Keywords

People

Liu Chiung-hsiEcologist at National Taitung University who made the sightings public in an Apple Daily opinion piece
Kao Cheng-chiPresident of the Austronesian Community College Development Association, Liu's source
Pan Chih-huaChair of the Alangyi tribal assembly, confirmed the sightings and relayed the hunters' description
Huang Chun-tseDeputy director, Taitung Forest District Office, Forestry Bureau
Pei Chia-chiNational Pingtung University of Science and Technology researcher behind the 13-year survey
Chiang Po-jenClouded leopard researcher, sceptical of the reports
Hu Chin-teChair of the Rukai Darumaki tribal assembly, gave a supporting account at the press conference
Chao Ren-fangI-Shou University, commented on the leopard's protected status