Status and range
- Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul)
- Recognised subspecies – Otoclobus manul manul & Otocolobus manul nigripectus (Otocolobus manul ferrugineus declined as subspecies with “orange” form stated as regional colour variation)
- Population estimation – 15,315 mature individuals
- Population trend – decreasing
- Near threatened by IUCN (could qualify as vulnerable in future)
- Range – wide distribution across central Asia west into Iran
- Countries present – Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia
- Strong hold – Mongolia and Russia
Habitat, ecology, threats
- Habitat – mountains, grasslands and montane steppe
- Key habitat features – marmot burrows, rocky crevices, ravines and other cavities for denning, shelter and protection
- Climate – little rainfall, low humidity, wide range of temperatures.
- Rarely found in areas with 10 day snow fall of 10cm or more
- Largely absent from lowland desert basins or flat plains
- Predated by large raptors, wolves and red foxes (domestic dogs)
Home range size – Male = upto 17 km2
Female = upto 9 km2 - Diet = small mammals (esp Pika), marmots, birds, carrion, reptiles, insects
- Activity – active early morning and early evening (crepuscular) but can be active all day (diurnal)
- Threats – habitat degradation, fragmentation, domestic dogs, secondary poisoning, over hunting
Although little is known about Pallas’s cat vocalisations in the wild recent research in captivity (by a member of the PICA team) has found that they do become vocal during the breeding season. The research which remotely recorded all vocalisations found that they have a range of vocalisations from typical felid hisses and snarls to a more unusual call used in the breeding season. Used mainly at night these unique and elusive cats most likely use this call to attract other Pallas’s cats prior to mating.