Where does the Pallas's cat live?
Pallas's cat, or manul, lives from the Caucasus eastward to Central Asia, Mongolia, adjacent parts of Dzungaria and the Tibetan Plateau. It inhabits rocky montane grasslands and shrublands, scree slopes and ravines, where the continuous snow cover is below 15–20 cm. It finds shelter in rock crevices and burrows. It is well camouflaged and adapted to the cold continental climate of its range, with little rainfall and a wide range of temperatures.
What does the Pallas's cat eat?
It preys mostly on lagomorphs and rodents. It is a small wild cat with a compact, stocky body, long, dense grey fur, short legs, a short bushy tail and rounded ears set low on the sides of the head. The hair on its belly is almost twice as long as on its back, which lets it walk with its belly close to the ground when hunting.
Is the Pallas's cat endangered?
The IUCN has listed it as Least Concern since 2020, because its range is wide and its population assumed to be large. Some populations are, however, threatened by poaching, prey decline due to rodent control programmes, and habitat fragmentation by mining and infrastructure projects.
