QUICK FACTS
Title: Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul)
The place it lives: Steppes and high-elevation grasslands in Central Asia, significantly Mongolia and China
What it eats: Small rodents, together with gerbils, hamsters and pikas, small lizards and birds
Pallas’s cat, also referred to as a manul, is a feline from Central Asia that yelps like a small canine and has such quick legs that it generally struggles to run after prey. Researchers assume it is without doubt one of the oldest residing cat species on the earth, having diverged 5.2 million years in the past from a leopard ancestor.
Though it seems to be stocky, Pallas’s cat is not truly a lot greater than a home cat beneath its lengthy, dense fur. This thick coat offers insulation towards its surroundings, the freezing chilly of Central Asia’s steppe and high-altitude grassland ecosystems. The species isn’t seen as a result of it’s solitary and really secretive, spending the daytime in rock crevices and marmot burrows.
Pallas’s cat comes out at nightfall to hunt and stays out till daybreak. It’s an ambush predator, which means it waits on the exits of rodent burrows till its prey seems — though some cats additionally stick their paws in to scoop out a meal, in line with the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute.
Even when Pallas’s cat is lively in the course of the day, the feline is tough to identify. Its coat is often grey or gentle tan, however it might change coloration with the seasons to raised mix into the native panorama, in line with the Nationwide Zoo. Many of the hairs even have white ideas, giving the cat a mottled or frosted look that’s troublesome to differentiate from rocks and shrubs in its pure environment.
For much more camouflage, Pallas’s cat has rounded ears set so low on its head that it might peer over rocks with out its ears peeking out. The one a part of its physique that protrudes is its bushy tail, which is about half so long as the pinnacle and physique mixed, in line with the Felidae Conservation Fund.
Not like different small cats, which have slit-like pupils, Pallas’s cat has rounded pupils which are good for judging distances. The cat additionally yelps when it’s scared or excited, which makes it sound extra like a small canine than a feline, in line with the Nationwide Zoo — however the species purrs and growls like another small cat.
Within the wild, Pallas’s cat usually lives eight to 9 years, in line with the Nationwide Zoo. The cat makes use of scent to mark its territory, which is unusually giant for such a small feline, with a variety usually protecting 3.5 to 7 sq. miles (9 to 18 sq. kilometers).
Pallas’s cats are recognized to maintain their paws heat by standing on their very own tail, in line with Edinburgh Zoo, however it’s unclear whether or not a chilly local weather explains the feline’s grumpy look.
