Evaluating Support for Clouded Leopard Reintroduction in Taiwan: Insights from Surveys of Indigenous and Urban Communities

The Indochinese clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa ) was recently declared extinct in Taiwan but is a potential candidate for reintroduction. We assessed the level of public support for reintroduction and the value of clouded leopards to Taiwanese residents via their willingness-to-pay (WTP) among indigenous and urban communities for a potential reintroduction to the Tawushan Nature Reserve. We also investigated sociodemographic factors related to such support or lack thereof. Questionnaires were completed by 263 rural indigenous residents and 500 urban residents across three metropolitan areas. We found 48%, 31%, and 21% of rural respondents supported, were neutral toward, or opposed a reintroduction, respectively, whereas for urban respondents these percentages were 71%, 22%, and 7% respectively. Rural and urban residents were >3 and >7 times more likely to pay to support a reintroduction than those willing to pay to prevent it, respectively, and the hypothetical donations of urban and rural supporters totaled 11.1 and 21.3 times more than opposition WTP totals. More positive attitudes towards clouded leopards were positively related to respondent support and greater WTP for reintroduction. Clouded leopard reintroduction is generally supported by the Taiwanese public, but rural support could change post-release given the large percentage of neutral respondents. We recommend indigenous involvement in any reintroduction effort and an educational campaign to increase awareness among Taiwanese residents about clouded leopards and their potential reintroduction.