Jungle Phantom
1994
oil, 29 5⁄8" x 41 1⁄2"

Exceedingly elusive, this arboreal, nocturnal cat is almost never seen in the wild, even by devoted researchers. I was able to get close to several clouded leopards at a zoo in England. They have beautiful coats with large, irregular spots, dark at one end and fading to a paler color at the other—like clouds, hence the name. Its almost disproportionately long tail acts as a counterbalance for climbing as it moves at speed through high branches.