Pallas’s cats are also known as Steppe or Manul cats. These have short legs and long hair, making them look more significant than their actual size. They are usually found in the desert and rocky mountainous regions from Tibet to Siberia. The species got its name after naturalist Peter Simon Pallas.
Pallas is grey or light brown. The seasonal molt can lead to the variation in color also. The color of their furs varies from season to season. They have long, dense hairs to protect them from the low temperature of their habitual regions. Its legs have faint black band marks. Manul’s tail is thick and short, about half its body length. Its tail has black colored tip along with several narrow black ring marks. They have a quirky feature, their round contracted pupils, which are different from other cats having vertical slits. Pallas’s cats are as cute as their name by look but not by nature.
Pallas’s cats are around 2-5 kg in weight. Its body length is 46-65 cm, with a tail of about 21-31 cm. Pallas’s cats are solitary and wild as soon as they become adults. These cats can live up to 8-10 years and have 2-6 cubs. They are carnivorous. They usually feed on pikas, small rodents such as gerbils, and hamsters. They also feed on insects like grasshoppers or hares. Its prey typically weighs 50–300 g.
Life Cycle of Pallas’s Cats
Pallas’s kittens have been very active from a very young age. Two-month-old kittens usually weigh 500-600 grams. Kittens start to hunt at five months of age. As they reach the age of 6-7 months, they are considered adults- The Cats. The females are mature enough at one year of age to reproduce and can litter around 2-6 kittens. A newborn kitten weighs about 80-90 grams. Once they start hunting, they are free to live on their own.
Pallas cats are specific about their prey. Pallas’s cats’ preferences are pikas, rodents, gerbils, hamsters, insects like grasshoppers, beetles, and sometimes squirrels. Pallas’s cats are ambush hunters. They hide and stalk their prey before making the final hunting move. Their diet is relatively healthy as they are carnivorous and rely on meat from other animals. Pallas’s cats live at least six and up to 10 years. Manul cats’ lifespan is less than that of other ordinary cats. This is maybe because of their habitat, living habits, and environment. Well, this is their natural lifespan, but these cats are always at gunpoint, which makes their lifespan even lesser.
Can Pallas’s Cats be a friendly pet?
Cats usually come under the category of friendly pets. People are either dog people or cat people. Even many famous personalities own cats. But one should not want to get a Pallas’s cat as a pet. Pallas’s cats are not meant to be domestic animals. They require a large open area like mountains to reside. Their feeding habits are a lot different from the typical cats. They are wild, apart from their adorable looks. Pallas cats are habitual to high altitudes, making them vulnerable at low heights. Not all cats fit the criteria of being a pet. Changes in size or habitat will lead to changes in their behavior too. It will make them miserable, making the person miserable in the process. Manuls are primarily found in Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea through Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and northern India to central China, Mongolia, and southern Russia.
Besides all the reasons mentioned, one can not buy this species to keep it as a pet. These cats are not on sale anywhere. If anyone finds one, it will be expensive ($1500-$3000) and illegal. This species needs to be protected and conserved but keeping them as pets is not an option. It is best to let them be the way they are. If you want to check out the Pallas’s cats, you can find them in one of your nearby zoos.
Where can one find Manuls?
Manuls or Pallas’s cats are very elusive. They are commonly found in Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central China, Mongolia, and Russia. Manuls are the cats that are adapted to live at high altitudes in mountains and rocky regions. These species are small in size with many furs, which easily hide inside small caves under the rocks. Manuls can not be found in shops to buy and keep as a pet. They are restricted as domestic animals due to their wild nature. One can find these cats in Mongolia and Russia, where they have conserved these species under their protected ground. Apart from that, many of these cats can also be seen in some zoos.
Manul Cats: The Loner
Pallas’s cats or steppe or manul cats are one-of-a-kind species. There are cats, and then there is a manul cat. They tend to live and roam alone around the mountainous regions. Their body structure and adaptations are as per the surroundings. Pallas is also aggressive; that is one of the root causes why they can not be kept as pets. Jim Sanderson, Ph.D., with the Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation, shares in an email interview about manul’s ear evolution with time, “Winter in the Asian steppe, especially at high latitudes in Mongolia and north into Russia and the windswept grasslands of Kazakhstan, can be brutally cold. Large ears like a jackrabbit give off a lot of body heat, an advantage in the hot desert like the Sonoran desert but a disadvantage in cold places. (Having) no ears would be best, but Pallas’s cats must also listen for rodents, so they need ears. Evolution has produced the perfect compromise.”
Pallas’s cats look so adorable with their furry body, cute little ears, eyes, long tail, and short legs. It seems like they are meant to be at home with humans, all buttery and cozy. Well, guess what? Everything that looks like Disneyworld isn’t the same. These species of cats do not like it at home among humans. They are the loner, perfect where they are.
Are Pallas’s Cats Rare?
Everything hard to handle is rare. Pallas’s cats are one of the rare species. These cats have an irregular body structure. They have occasional feeding habits. They have wild nature that is rare in cats (extremely wild). Pallas is perhaps the most expressive feline that is rare apart from their flattened and broad face. They even hold celebrity status by playing the mascot role for the Moscow Zoo for over 30 years. That is something unique a cat is doing. Pallas’s cats do not socialize much. Younger cats live with the groups, but they prefer to be a loner once they become adults.
Pallas’s cats live throughout Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, northern India, Mongolia, central china, and southern Russia. They can not avoid the snowfall in these regions, but they prefer to stay in drier areas with less or least rainfall. These cats are so adapted to the high-risk habitats that they can not be retained in standard or low altitudes. This is what makes them rare and quirky.
Things you should know about Wild Pallas’s Cats
The Pallas’ cat is also known as manul. German naturalist Peter Pallas initially classified the cat as Felis manul in 1776. The word ‘manul’ comes from the Mongolian language. The current scientific name of the Pallas cat is Otocolobus. This scientific name comes from the Greek language, which can be translated into the meaning’ ugly-eared.’ When Pallas first described the cat, he suggested it was the ancestor of the domestic Persian breed because of its body and looks, but it was not a correct interpretation.
The long and dense fur on manul’s body creates an illusion. The actual size of the manul’s body is around 26 inches, weighing almost 10 pounds. But the skins make it look bigger and heavier. The eyes of these species are sort of unlike the other species as the pupil contracts into small circles instead of vertical slits. These cats are very particular about their habitats. They only like to live at high altitudes up to 15000 feet in rocks and mountains. They usually live in small caves under stones.
Temperature is relatively low at high altitudes, which creates a frigid climate. Pallas are adapted to this environment. Their small body structure with dense fur makes it easy to be warm enough. Pallas’ cats have to go through two major color phases. In the Winterwinter, their coats are grey and more uniform in color.
On the other hand, in the summer, they have more stripes and ochre colors in their fur. Manuls are the loner. Every characteristic of manul proves that this species is meant to be a loner. These cats can not be considered domestic animals.
Are Pallas cats good Hunters?
Pallas cats are excellent hunters. They hunt like a cheetah. They stalk, follow, hide for the right moment, and then the hunt jumps. They wait outside the pounce or burrows while covering themselves behind the rocks. Pallas usually feed on insects and pikas. Even though Pallas are good hunters, they are not good runners. This sometimes comes as a barrier in between when other wild animals are chasing them. It’s a good thing that cats are smarty pants regarding their survival.
Do we need to take care of manul cats extinction? As of now, 15000 Pallas cats are in the record in the present time. The estimation is not precise due to the elusive nature of these cats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has considered this species under least concern, per reports. But it must be taken care of due to many threats and reasons. Overgrazing by domestic animals makes the land fragmented, degraded, and arable. Domestic dog predation is also a reason for the same. As the development is increasing, mining and modifications are being done to wild animals’ habitats; they are losing their homes. The government has also sanctioned poisoning campaigns for pikas and other rodents, making it hard for manuls to get food.
Besides all the reasons, the root cause is there hunting for their furs. These species are hunted down even though they are not in such large numbers. If this will carry on perpetually, then the species is not far from extinction, which is under most minor concern.
How can Pallas’s cats be Conserved?
There is not much to study about Pallas’s cats as the research is not conducted correctly. Most of the knowledge base has come from Mongolia and Russia. These are the two countries working very hard on conserving Pallas’s cats. As per reports, specific actions have been taken in protected and nonprotected areas. Almost 12% of the cats lie in the secure area of Mongolia. Still, illegal hunting is hard to cease in other parts. On the other side, 13% of the Pallas’s cats are under protected ground.
Pallas’s Cat Working Group (PCWG) has been a network of around 30 members from various countries and international experts since 2012. It aims to recognize all the efforts done for Pallas’s cats, from research studies to their conservation all over the world. Another alliance, Pallas’s Cat International Conservation Alliance (PICA), was founded in 2016. It is a collaboration between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Nordens Ark Zoo of Sweden, and the Snow Leopard Trust. Fondation Segre funds this alliance.
PICA aims to increase the knowledge of Pallas’s cat distribution along with suitable survey techniques to know more about Pallas’s cat basic ecology. It also focuses on improving awareness and communication and developing a Conservation Action Plan. The first range-wide Conservation Strategy was developed with PCWG and published in 2019. Hunting is banned in all countries. It has been legally protected in Afghanistan since 2009. The species has been listed as near threatened in Mongolia since 2006 and endangered in China. Turkmenistan is also looking out for the species as it is critically endangered. Pallas’s cats are on the verge of extinction, and it is essential to take strict action.