Clouded Leopard Day: Camouflage Art
In this activity, kids will learn about clouded leopards and camouflage.
Age: Children ages 5 - 10 years old Gather your Gear
• Various natural objects: leaves, branches, pinecones, grass, flowers, bark, small pebbles, dirt, etc. • Newspaper • Non-toxic paint (shades of brown and green) • Paintbrushes • Paper plate • Canvas, cardstock, poster board, or cardboard
*credit: Firefliesandmudpies.com
Get Ready You can help your child make connections by thinking about concepts before the activity. Clouded leopards are one of the best climbers of the cat family. They can climb upside down along the undersides of branches and can also hang from branches using their hind feet. Clouded leopards are not a type of leopard. They are a separate wild cat species, as are the leopard and snow leopard. Also known as tree tigers or mint leopards in parts of Asia, these cats are very capable swimmers.
Clouded Leopard Day: Camouflage Art
Because of their secretive nature, clouded leopards are not often seen in the wild. The intricate color patterns on these medium-sized cats provide excellent camouflage across a variety of habitats in southeastern Asia. “Camouflage” is when an animal blends in with its surroundings so as to hide itself from other living things. In the wild, animals who can camouflage use this ability to either hide from a predator or to help them sneak up on prey. Let’s get creative and make some camouflaged art!
Explore and Create
• First thing is to explore outside and gather some of your materials! Try to find some leaves, branches, pinecones, grass, flowers, bark, small pebbles, dirt, etc. • Lay down some newspaper on a table or flat surface. • Pour some of the brown and green paint onto a paper plate. • Using your paintbrush, cover your canvas with strokes of brown and green. There’s no right way to do this, so get creative and have fun! • Press some of the items you found outside (leaves, branches, bark, etc.) onto the wet paint on the canvas.
Clouded Leopard Day: Camouflage Art
*credit: Firefliesandmudpies.com
• Set your art aside to allow it to dry. • Clean-up your art space and return any natural objects that you did not use back outside. • And voilà! You now have your very own piece of unique camouflage art!
Recap Have a conversation about what you saw/did and questions your child may have.
• What is camouflage? • Why do some animals camouflage themselves? • What type of natural objects did you use in your art?
Clouded Leopard Day: Camouflage Art
Relate Create connections to the idea through activities. Clouded leopard populations in the wild are considered vulnerable, with numbers most likely under 10,000 individuals, but no one really knows exactly how many there are because of their elusive nature. In fact, most of the information that is known about clouded leopard behavior has been gathered by observing the animals in zoos! In addition to habitat loss, they also face poaching for their pelts, bones, and other body parts for traditional medicines.
The easiest way you can help clouded leopards is to only use products that contain sustainably sourced palm oil. Download Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s free Sustainable Palm Oil App and use it when shopping.
It takes a team…. join ours Help us save species by joining the “Zoo Conservation Corps” and raise awareness about wild animals, their habitats and why conserving both is so important. If your family members are on social media, post to show what you have learned, and use the hashtag #OnlyZooATL so that we can see all your great work!
Want to know more?
• For more on clouded leopard conservation, go to: http://cloudedleopard.org/ • Visit Zoo Atlanta to meet Suhana the clouded leopard and to learn more about her species!