Let’s go see Pallas’ Cat!

#Caturdays

“Close-up of Pallas Cat (Felis Manul) taken in Edinburgh Zoo .” — Scott Liddell — Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland

How Pallas’ Cat gets its name.

Peter Simon Pallas (1741–1811) — a silhouette by A. Tardier, an 18th century artist

Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul), or generally the manul, was first named the Felis manul in 1776, by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas. Pallas was known for his zoology and botany research, working primarily out of Russia. His surname has been used to commemorate a number of animals such as these fellas:

Pallas’ Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus proregulus) — (Left) Steve Ray —Kingsdown, Kent, England | (Right) Frode Falkenberg — Happy Island, China

Pallas’ Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus) — (Left) Bob Thompson — Pokfulam Reservoir, Hong Kong | (Right) Tremarctos — Doi Inthanon, Thailand

Pallas’ Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus) — Lip Kee Yap — Kazaringa, Assam, India

His surname was even honored through the use of some animals’ scientific names — The Pacific herring’s scientific name is Clupea pallasii.

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) — Black and white drawing

You might have noticed that Pallas classified these guys as Felis manul. So how exactly did the Pallas’ cat leave the Felis specification?

You can thank the British zoologist, Reginald Innes Pocock, and the Russian explorer, Nikolai Severtzov, for this.

(Left) R. I. Pocock (1863–1947), British zoologist — Edward Hindle | (Right) Nikolai Severtzov (1827–1885), Russian naturalist — Public Domain

In 1858, the Severtzov proposed the name Otocolobus for the species. Nearly half a century later, Pocock officially recognized this taxonomic classification of Otocolobus in 1907, in the process of describing several skulls, and considered the manul as an aberrant form of Felis.

So what’s to know about the cool Pallas’ cat?

Two close-ups of a male (left) and a female (right) Pallas’ cat (Otocolobus manul)— Tambako The Jaguar — Zurich Zoo, Switzerland

These cats are around the size of your average domestic cat.

At most, it’s body is 2' 6" long, and its tail is adds on another 1 foot. They can weigh anywhere from around 5.5 to 10 pounds. What else makes these guys unique?

• Their legs are proportionately shorter than those of other cats which, in combination with their long, dense fur, makes them appear stout and plush. In fact, they have the longer and denser fur than any other cat!
• Their faces are shortened, when compared with other cats, giving them the appearance of a flattened face.
• If you haven’t noticed their pupils are circular, unlike the narrow eyes of other felines! When their pupils contract it makes a sort of “pinhole” glare.
• Manuls have an atypically shorter jaw with fewer teeth than other felids, missing their entire first pair of upper premolars, but, have larger canine teeth than others.
• Pallas’ cats are solitary. These loners are prone to scent marking their territory, spending their days in caves, rock crevices, and marmot burrows…Alone.
• They have an extremely short mating season. Female Pallas’ cats are in estrus for only 26 to 42 hours.
• They aren’t fast runners! In fact, they’re terrible at outrunning things. Instead, these guys use their small, stocky bodies to ambush and stalk prey using low vegetation and rocky terrain for cover. They feed largely on species such as gerbils, pikas, voles, and chukar partridges — Yikes!
• They’re sounds are varied — way different than other cats! (Listen to them here.)
• They’re especially cute when they’re asleep!

Okay, okay — Now where can I find one?

The short answer would be that Pallas’ cats hail from Mongolia.

Even there, however, the population density is small.

The range in which Pallas’ cats are found.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says:

“Even in [the] optimal steppe habitat in Mongolia, Pallas’s Cats occur at a very low density of [2 to 6 cats per 100 sq. km.]…Pallas’s Cat has a wide distribution across Central Asia and west into Iran [however] it is rarely sighted. Due to recent habitat degradation and habitat specialisation shown by the species the population is likely to be fragmented and much of the supposed distribution is likely to be unoccupied by the species…At the same time a lack of recent records from range countries indicates possible expatriation from its historic range. Mongolia is probably the stronghold of Pallas’s Cat.”

So is Pallas’ cat from Mongolia?

These cats are estimated to have diverged from a leopard cat ancestor about 5.9 million years ago!

With a broad but patchy diaspora in the grasslands and mountainous steppes of Central Asia, it would seem these little guys have made intercontinental migrations since the Miocene Epoch, nearly 23 million years ago!

Now Pallas’ cats can be found in the following places:

Afghanistan,
Azerbaijan,
Bhutan,
China,
India,
Iran,
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Mongolia,
Nepal,
Pakistan,
and Russia.

Before you go, I have some bad news…

Pallas’ cat is listed in Appendix II of the CITES treaty.

CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is a multilateral treaty created protect endangered plants and animals. It was first drafted in 1963, as a result of a resolution adopted by members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. The IUCN is best known for compiling and publishing the Red List of Threatened Species, which assess the conservation status of species worldwide. Otocolobus manul can be found, classified, here.

Angry Pallas’ cat (female) — Tambako The Jaguar — Zurich Zoo, Switzerland

Bottom line? — This feline is in danger.

Manul fur, until the 1980s, had been internationally traded, causing a severe blow to the manul’s capacity to survive.

Although international trading of Pallas’ cat fur has largely ceased, they continue to be hunted in relatively large numbers in China, Russia, and Mongolia. About 1,000 hunters of Pallas’ cats reside in Mongolia, estimated as a depletion of 2 cats per year. When not being intentionally hunted, these cats are shot while being mistaken for marmots, or caught in traps and snares set for wolves, foxes, marmots, and hares.

Pallas’ cats have the highest percentage of 30-day mortality than any other small cat at 44.9% — they have an underdeveloped immune system, traditionally living in high-altitude habitats where exposure to infection-causing viruses was limited.

Conservation efforts are being put into effect.

The IUCN classifies Pallas’ cats as Near Threatened.

Hunting is prohibited in all range countries, except for Mongolia, where it has no legal protection, despite being classified as Near Threatened in the country. In other places, such as Afghanistan and some parts of Pakistan, it all hunting, as well as trade, has been banned.

As of 2010, 47 Pallas’ cats were in 19 institutions (all of which are members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums). For now, these felines survive, ambling on despite their (relatively) small size.

So now, you’ve learned about Pallas’ cat.

You have some grade-A ammunition for anyone who questions your knowledge about cats!

(Left) Tula (female Pallas’ cat) — Editfmah Adrian Herridge —Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Kent | (Right) Comedic Pallas’ cat — Scarce Worldwide

(Left) Posing Pallas’ cat (male) — Tambako The Jaguar — Mulhouse Zoo, France | (Right) Pallas’ kitten — Parken Zoo — Parken Zoo, Sweden

(Oh yeah — All images are linked! Just click on ‘em.)

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