{{Short description|Species of small wild cat}} {{Good article}} {{Speciesbox | name = Pallas's cat | image = Manoel.jpg | image_caption = A Pallas's cat at Rotterdam Zoo | genus = Otocolobus | parent_authority = Brandt, 1841 | species = manul<ref name=CatSG2017/> | authority = (Pallas, 1776) | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Otocolobus manul'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Ross, S. |author2=Barashkova, A. |author3=Dhendup, T. |author4=Munkhtsog, B. |author5=Smelansky, I. |author6=Barclay, D. |author7=Moqanaki, E. |date=2020 |article-number=e.T15640A180145377 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T15640A180145377.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A2 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/> | subdivision = * ''O. m. manul'' (Pallas, 1776) * ''O. m. nigripectus'' (Hodgson, 1842) | range_map = Manul_distribution2021.png | range_map_caption = Distribution of Pallas's cat<ref name=iucn /> }}
'''Pallas's cat''' ('''''Otocolobus manul'''''), also called '''manul''', is a small wild cat with long and dense light grey fur, and rounded ears set low on the sides of the head. Its head-and-body length ranges from {{cvt|46|to|65|cm}} with a {{cvt|21|-|31|cm}} long bushy tail. It is well camouflaged and adapted to the cold continental climate in its native range, which receives little rainfall and experiences a wide range of temperatures.
Pallas's cat was first described in 1776 by Peter Simon Pallas, who observed it in the vicinity of Lake Baikal. Since then, it has been recorded across a large region in Central Asia, albeit in widely spaced sites from the Caucasus, Iranian Plateau, Hindu Kush, parts of the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau to the Altai-Sayan region and South Siberian Mountains. It inhabits rocky montane grasslands and shrublands, where the snow cover is below {{cvt|15-20|cm|0}}. It finds shelter in rock crevices and burrows, and preys foremost on lagomorphs and rodents. The female gives birth to between two and six kittens in spring.
Due to its widespread range and assumed large population, Pallas's cat has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2020. Some population units are threatened by poaching, prey base decline due to rodent control programs, and habitat fragmentation as a result of mining and infrastructure projects.
Pallas's cat has been kept in zoos since the early 1950s. {{As of|2018|post=,}} 60 zoos in Europe, Russia, North America and Japan participate in Pallas's cat captive breeding programs.
==Etymology== "Manul" is Pallas's cat's name in the Mongolian language, and it is called "manol" in the Kyrgyz language.<ref name=Pallas/><ref name=Pallas1776/> The common name 'Pallas's cat' was coined by William Thomas Blanford in honour of Peter Simon Pallas.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blanford |first1=W. T. |year=1888–1891 |volume=((Mammalia)) |title=The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma |location=London |publisher=Taylor & Francis |pages=83–84 |chapter=''Felis manul''. Pallas's Cat |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mammalia00blan/page/83/mode/1up |oclc=1049638774}}</ref>
==Taxonomy== ''Felis manul'' was the scientific name used by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776, who first described a Pallas's cat that he had encountered near the Dzhida River southeast of Lake Baikal.<ref name="Pallas1776">{{cite book|last1=Pallas|first1=P. S.|title=Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des russischen Reichs |publisher=Kayserliche Academie der Wissenschaften |year=1776|volume=Reise aus Sibirien zurück an die Wolga im 1773ten Jahr |location=St. Petersburg |chapter=''Felis manul''|author-link=Peter Simon Pallas |chapter-url=https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN33004978X?tify={%22pages%22:[242],%22view%22:%22info%22} |page=692}}</ref><ref name="Pallas">{{cite book|author=Pallas, P. S. |title=Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica, sistens omnium Animalium in extenso Imperio Rossico et adjacentibus maribus observatorum recensionem, domicillia, mores et descriptiones, anatomen atque icones plurimorum|publisher=Officina Caes. Acadamiae scientiarum |year=1811 |volume=1 |location=Petropoli |pages=20–23|chapter=Felis Manul |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/zoographiarossoa11831pall#page/20/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name=ems1951/> Several Pallas's cat zoological specimens were subsequently described: * ''Felis nigripectus'' proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1842 was based on three specimens from Tibet.<ref name=Hodgson1842>{{cite journal |author=Hodgson, B. H. |author-link=Brian Houghton Hodgson |year=1842 |title=Notice of the Mammals of Tibet, with Description and Plates of some new Species: ''Felis nigripectus'' Illustration |journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=275–289; Plate 333 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiatic111asia/page/276}}</ref> * ''Otocolobus manul ferrugineus'' proposed by Sergey Ognev in 1928 was an erythristic specimen from the Kopet Dag mountains.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ognev, S. I. |author-link=Sergey Ognev |year=1928 |title=On a new form of the steppe cat from the Transcaspian region [''Otocolobus manul ferrugineus''] |journal=Doklady Akademii Nauk Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik |volume=Seriya A |pages=308–310}}</ref>
''Otocolobus'' was proposed by Johann Friedrich von Brandt in 1842 as a generic name.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Brandt J. F. |year=1842 |title=Observations sur le manoul (''Felis manul'' Pallas) |journal=Bulletin Scientifique. Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint Petersbourg |volume=9 |pages=37–39}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Severtzow, M. N. |author-link=Nikolai Severtzov |year=1858 |title=Notice sur la classification multisériale des Carnivores, spécialement des Félidés, et les études de zoologie générale qui s'y rattachent |journal=Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée |series=2 |issue=X |pages=385–393 |url=https://archive.org/stream/revueetmagasinde10soci#page/386/mode/2up}}</ref> Reginald Innes Pocock recognized the taxonomic rank of ''Otocolobus'' in 1907, described several Pallas's cat skulls in detail and considered Pallas's cat an aberrant form of ''Felis''.<ref name=Pocock1907>{{cite journal |author=Pocock, R. I. |year=1907 |title=Exhibition of a photograph and the skull of a specimen of the Manul or Pallas' cat (''Felis manul'') that had recently died in the Society's Menagerie with some remarks on the species |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |pages=299–306 |url=https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofzoo19071446zool#page/298/mode/2up}}</ref>
In 1951, John Ellerman and Terence Morrison-Scott considered * the nominate subspecies ''Felis manul manul'' to be distributed from Russian Turkestan to Transbaikalia;<ref name=ems1951>{{cite book |last1=Ellerman |first1=J. R. |last2=Morrison-Scott |first2=T. C. S. |name-list-style=amp |edition=First |title=Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals 1758 to 1946 |publisher=British Museum of Natural History |location=London |year=1951 |page=308 |chapter=''Felis manul'' Pallas, 1776 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/checklistofpalae00elle/page/308/mode/2up}}</ref> * ''F. m. nigripecta'' to be distributed in Tibet and Kashmir;<ref name=ems1951/> * ''F. m. ferruginea'' occurring from southwestern Turkestan and the Kopet Dag mountains to Afghanistan and Balochistan.<ref name=ems1951/>
Since 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group recognises only two subspecies as valid taxa, namely:<ref name=CatSG2017>{{cite journal |author1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O'Donoghue, P. |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 11 |pages=21–22 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}</ref> * ''O. m. manul'' syn. ''O. m. ferrugineus'' in the western and northern part of Central Asia from Iran to Mongolia; * ''O. m. nigripectus'' in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Bhutan.
===Phylogeny=== Phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear DNA in tissue samples from all Felidae species revealed that the evolutionary radiation of the Felidae began in Asia during the late Miocene around {{mya|14.45|8.38}}.<ref name=Johnson2006>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=W. E. |last2=Eizirik |first2=E. |last3=Pecon-Slattery |first3=J. |last4=Murphy |first4=W. J. |last5=Antunes |first5=A. |last6=Teeling |first6=E. |last7=O'Brien |first7=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=The Late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: A genetic assessment |journal=Science |volume=311 |pages=73–77 |pmid=16400146 |doi=10.1126/science.1122277 |issue=5757|bibcode=2006Sci...311...73J |s2cid=41672825 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 }}</ref><ref name=Werdelin2010>{{cite book |last1=Werdelin |first1=L. |author1-link=Lars Werdelin |last2=Yamaguchi |first2=N. |last3=Johnson |first3=W. E. |last4=O'Brien |first4=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae) |year=2010 |pages=59–82 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |editor1-last=Macdonald |editor1-first=D. W. |editor2-last=Loveridge |editor2-first=A. J. |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-923445-5}}</ref> Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at around {{mya|16.76|6.46}}.<ref name=Li_al2016>{{cite journal |author=Li, G. |author2=Davis, B. W. |author3=Eizirik, E. |name-list-style=amp |author4=Murphy, W. J. |year=2016 |title=Phylogenomic evidence for ancient hybridization in the genomes of living cats (Felidae) |journal=Genome Research |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1101/gr.186668.114 |pmid=26518481 |pmc=4691742}}</ref> Pallas's cat is estimated to have genetically diverged from a common ancestor with the genus ''Prionailurus'' between {{mya|8.55|4.80}} based on analysis of nuclear DNA.<ref name=Johnson2006/> Based on analysis of mitochondrial DNA, it diverged {{mya|9.4|1.46}} from a common ancestor with ''Felis''.<ref name=Li_al2016/>
{{clade gallery |align=center |vertical=|width=600px; |main-caption=Phylogenetic relationships of Pallas's cat as derived through analysis of |header1=nuclear DNA:<ref name=Johnson2006/> |cladogram1={{clade |style=font-size:90%; |label1=Felidae |1={{clade |label1=Felinae |1={{clade |sublabel1=8.55–4.8 mya |1={{clade |style1=background-color:#ffeeee |label1=''Prionailurus'' |sublabel1=6.54–3.42 mya |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Leopard cat (''P. bengalensis'') |2=Fishing cat (''P. viverrinus'') }} |2=Flat-headed cat (''P. planiceps'') }} |2=Rusty-spotted cat (''P. rubiginosus'') }} |2='''Pallas's cat''' |label2=''Otocolobus''}} |2=other Felinae lineages }} |2=Pantherinae }} }} |header2=mitochondrial DNA:<ref name=Li_al2016/> |cladogram2={{clade |style=font-size:90%; |label1=Felidae |1={{clade |label1=Felinae |1={{clade |sublabel1=13.10–4.21 mya |1={{clade |sublabel1=9.40–1.46 mya |1={{clade |label1=''Felis'' |sublabel1=6.52–1.03 mya |1={{clade |1=other ''Felis'' species |2=Jungle cat (''F. chaus'') }} |2='''Pallas's cat''' }} |2={{clade |style1=background-color:#ffeeee |label1=''Prionailurus'' |sublabel1=8.76–0.73 mya |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Leopard cat |2=Fishing cat }} |2=Flat-headed cat }} |2=Rusty-spotted cat }} }} }} |2=other Felinae lineages }} |2=Pantherinae }} }} }} {{clear}}
==Characteristics== {{multiple image |perrow=1 |image_style=border:none |image1=ManulZooEdinburg.jpg |caption1=Pallas's cat in Edinburgh Zoo |image2=Felis_manul_-Howletts_Wild_Animal_Park_-8.jpg| caption2=Pallas's cat in Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, UK}} Pallas's cat's fur is light grey with pale yellowish-ochre or pale yellowish-reddish hues.<ref name=Hodgson1842/> Some hair tips are white and some blackish. Its fur is greyer and denser with fewer markings visible in winter than in the summer.<ref name=Geptner1972>{{cite book |last1=Heptner|first1=V. G. |last2=Sludskii |first2=A. A. |name-list-style=amp |year=1992 |orig-date=1972 |title=Mlekopitaiuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Vysšaia Škola, Moskva |trans-title=Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2: Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats) |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation |pages=665–696 |chapter=Manul. ''Felis (Otocolobus) manul'' Pallas, 1776 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov221992gept#page/664/mode/2up}}</ref>{{rp|668–669}} The forehead and top of the head are light grey with small black spots. It has two black zigzag lines on the cheeks running from the corner of the eyes to the jaw joints.<ref name=Hodgson1842/> Its chin, whiskers, lower and upper lips are white.<ref name=Geptner1972/>{{rp|669}} It has narrow black stripes on the back, consisting of five to seven dark transversal lines across the lower back.<ref name=Hodgson1842/> Its grey tail has seven narrow black rings and a black tip. The underfur is {{cvt|40|mm|in}} long and 19 μm thick, and the guard hairs up to {{cvt|69|mm}} long and {{cvt|93|μm}} thick on the back. Its fur is soft and dense with up to {{cvt|9000|/cm2|/sqin|disp=preunit|hairs|hairs}}.<ref name=Geptner1972/>{{rp|669}}
Pallas's cat's ears are grey with a yellowish tinge on the back and a darker rim, but with whitish hair in front and in the ear pinnae. Its rounded ears are set low on the side, such that it can peer over an object and show only a relatively small part of the head above the eyes without depressing the ears. This can give its face a look of ferocity and unrest.<ref name=Pocock1907/> Its eyes are encircled by white. The iris is yellowish, and its pupils contract to small circular disks in sunlight.<ref name=Pocock1907/>{{rp|301}} Among the Felinae, it shares this trait of round pupils with ''Puma'', ''Herpailurus'' and ''Acinonyx'' species.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Kitchener, A.C. |author2=Van Valkenburgh, B. |author3=Yamaguchi, N. |year=2010 |chapter=Felid form and function |pages=83–106 |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |editor1=Macdonald, D.W. |editor2=Loveridge, A.J. |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-959283-8 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266753114}}</ref>
Pallas's cat is about the size of a domestic cat (''Felis catus'').<ref name=Hodgson1842/> Its stocky posture with the long and dense fur make it appear stout and plush. Its head-to-body is {{cvt|46|-|65|cm}} long with a {{cvt|21|-|31|cm}} long tail. It weighs {{cvt|2.5|-|4.5|kg|lboz}}.<ref name=WCoW>{{cite book |author=Sunquist, M. |author2=Sunquist, F. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=Wild Cats of the World |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0-226-77999-7 |pages=219–224 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IF8nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 |chapter=Manul ''Otocolobus manul'' (Pallas 1776)}}</ref> Its body is stout, and its skull is rounded with a short nasal bone, an enlarged cranial part and rounded zygomatic arches. Its orbits are large and directed forward. Its legs are short with short and sharp retractile claws.<ref name=Ognev1930>{{cite journal |author=Ogneff, S. J. |year=1930 |title=Übersicht der russischen Kleinkatzen |trans-title=Overview of Russian small cats |journal=Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=48–88 |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Zeitschrift-Saeugetierkunde_5_0048-0085.pdf}}</ref>
The skull of males is {{cvt|87-95|mm}} long and {{cvt|66-74|mm}} wide at the base. Females have a {{cvt|84-96|mm}} long and {{cvt|65-68|mm}} wide skull.<ref name=Geptner1972/>{{rp|671–674}} The lower carnassial teeth are powerful, and the upper carnassials are short and massive. The first pair of upper premolars is absent. The dental formula is {{DentalFormula|upper=3.1.2.1|lower=3.1.2.1|total=28}}.<ref name=Ognev1930/> It has a bite force at the canine tip of 155.4 newtons and a bite force quotient at the canine tip of 113.8.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Christiansen, P. |author2=Wroe, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Bite forces and evolutionary adaptations to feeding ecology in carnivores |journal=Ecology |volume=88 |issue=2 |pages=347–358 |doi=10.1890/0012-9658(2007)88[347:bfaeat]2.0.co;2 |pmid=17479753}}</ref>
The mitochondrial genome of Pallas's cat consists of 16,672 base pairs containing 13 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNA and two ribosomal RNA genes and one non-coding RNA control region.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Xu, Y. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Liu, J. |author3=Jiang, E. |author4=Xu, Y. |author5=Ning, F. |author6=Du, Z. |author7=Bai, X. |year=2019 |title=The complete mitochondrial genome of Pallas's cat (''Otocolobus manul'') |journal=Mitochondrial DNA Part B |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=658–659 |doi=10.1080/23802359.2019.1568207 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== Pallas's cat's range extends from the Caucasus eastward to Central Asia, Mongolia and adjacent parts of Dzungaria and the Tibetan Plateau. It inhabits montane shrublands and grasslands, rocky outcrops, scree slopes and ravines in areas, where the continuous snow cover is below {{cvt|15-20|cm|in|0}}.<ref name=Geptner1972/> In the southwestern part of its range, its habitat is affected by cold and dry winters, and moderate to low rainfall in warm summers.<ref name=Moqanaki_al2019>{{cite journal |author1=Moqanaki, E. M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Jahed, N. |author3=Malkhasyan, A. |author4=Askerov, E. |author5=Farhadinia, M. S. |author6=Kabir, M. |author7=Adibi, M. A. |author8=Ud Din, J. |author9=Joolaee, L. |author10=Chahartaghi, N. R. |author11=Ostrowski, S. |year=2019 |title=Distribution and status of the Pallas's cat in the south-west part of its range |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 13 |pages=24–30 |url=http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/5.Cat_News/5.3._Special_Issues/5.3.12_SI_13/Moqanaki_et_al_2019_Distribution_and_status_of_Pallas%27s_cat_in_south_west_part_of_its_range.pdf |archive-date=2024-06-20 |access-date=2021-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620014141/http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/5.Cat_News/5.3._Special_Issues/5.3.12_SI_13/Moqanaki_et_al_2019_Distribution_and_status_of_Pallas%27s_cat_in_south_west_part_of_its_range.pdf }}</ref> The typical vegetation in this part consists of small shrubs, sagebrush (''Artemisia''), ''Festuca'' and ''Stipa'' grasses.<ref name=Geptner1972/> In the central part of its range, it inhabits hilly landscapes, high plateaus and intermontane valleys that are covered by dry steppe or semi-desert vegetation, such as low shrubs and xerophytic grasses.<ref name=Barashkova_al2019>{{cite journal |author1=Barashkova, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Smelansky, I. |author3=Kirilyuk, V. |author4=Naidenko, S. |author5=Antonevich, A. |author6=Gritsina, M. |author7=Zhumabai uulu, K. |author8=Koshkin, M. |author9=Battogtokh, N. |author10=Otgonbayar, B. |author11=Grachev, A. |author12=Lissovsky, A. |year=2019 |title=Distribution and status of the manul in Central Asia and adjacent areas |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 13 |pages=14–23 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333745240}}</ref> The continental climate in this region exhibits a range of {{cvt|80|C-change}} between the highest and lowest air temperatures, dropping to {{cvt|−50|C}} in winter.<ref name=Geptner1972/>{{rp|684–688}}
The Greater Caucasus region is considered climatically suitable for Pallas's cat.<ref name=Moqanaki_al2019/> In Armenia, an individual was killed near Vedi in the mountains of Ararat Province in the late 1920s.<ref name=Ognev1930/> In January 2020, an individual was sighted about {{cvt|140|km|mi|sigfig=1}} farther north in Tavush Province; the habitat at this location transitions from semi-desert to montane steppe at an elevation of about {{cvt|570|m|ft|sigfig=2}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khorozyan |first1=I. |last2=Ananian |first2=V. |last3=Malkhasyan |first3=A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2020 |title=No longer regionally extinct: a review of Pallas's Cat ''Otocolobus manul'' records from the Caucasus with a new record from Armenia (Mammalia: Felidae) |journal=Zoology in the Middle East |volume=67 |pages=12–18 |doi=10.1080/09397140.2020.1865663|issn=0939-7140|s2cid=231929008 }}</ref> Records in Azerbaijan are limited to one Pallas's cat skin found in Karabakh and a sighting of an individual in Julfa District, both in the late 20th century.<ref name=Aghili_al2008>{{cite journal |author1=Aghili, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Masoud, R. |author3=Murdoch, J. D. |author4=Mallon, D. P. |title=First Record of Pallas's Cat in Northwest Iran |year=2008 |journal=Cat News |issue=49 |pages=8–9 |citeseerx=10.1.1.568.144}}</ref> thumb|Pallas's cat inhabits rocky slopes in the Koh-i-Baba Range of the Hindu Kush. On the Iranian Plateau, two Pallas's cats were encountered near the Aras River in northwestern Iran before the 1970s.<ref name=Geptner1972/> In the area, an individual was captured at an elevation of about {{cvt|1500|m|ft|sigfig=1}} near Azarshahr in East Azerbaijan Province in 2008.<ref name=Aghili_al2008/> In the same year, a camera trap recorded a Pallas's cat on the southern slopes of the central Alborz Mountains in Khojir National Park shortly after heavy snowfall.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Chalani, M. |author2=Ghoddousi, A. |author3=Ghadirian, T. |author4=Goljani, R. |name-list-style=amp |year=2008 |title=First Pallas's Cat Photo-trapped in Khojir National Park, Iran |journal=Cat News |issue=49 |page=7 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281447558}}</ref> Farther east in the Alborz Mountains, an individual was recorded among rocks at an elevation of {{cvt|2441|m}} in 2016.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Otaghvar, Y. T. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Chahartaghi, N. R. |author3=Sepahvand, P. |author4=Kazari, M. |author5=Khayat, A. S. |year=2017 |title=First record of Pallas's cat in Kavdeh No-hunting Area, Iran |journal=Cat News |issue=65 |page=27 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316473205}}</ref> In the Aladagh and Kopet Dag Mountains, Pallas's cat was recorded inside and in the vicinity of protected areas.<ref name=Farhadinia_al2016>{{cite journal |author1=Farhadinia, M. S. |author2=Moqanaki, E. M. |name-list-style=amp |author3=Adibi, M. A. |year=2016 |title=Baseline information and status assessment of the Pallas's cat in Iran |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 10 |pages=38–42 |url=http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/3.Conservation_Center/3.2._Status_Reports/Manul/Farhadinia_et_al_2016_Status_assessment_of_the_Pallas_s_cat_in_Iran.pdf |archive-date=2024-04-01 |access-date=2021-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240401093122/http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/3.Conservation_Center/3.2._Status_Reports/Manul/Farhadinia_et_al_2016_Status_assessment_of_the_Pallas_s_cat_in_Iran.pdf }}</ref> In the south of the Zagros Mountains, an individual was caught in a corral used by transhumant pastoralists in Abadeh County in 2012. The surrounding area consists of rocky steppe habitat dominated by mountain almond (''Prunus scoparia''), ''Astragalus'' and ''Artemisia''.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Joolaee, L. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Moghimi, B. |author3=Ansari, M. |author4=Ghoddousi, A. |year=2014 |title=First record of Pallas's Cat from Fars Province, Southern Iran |journal=Cat News |issue=60 |pages=18–19 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281447361}}</ref> In the Hindu Kush, a Pallas's cat was observed sunbathing at the fringe of a rocky high-elevation plain near Dasht-e Nawar in Afghanistan's Koh-i-Baba range in April 2007.<ref>{{cite report |author1=Ostrowski, S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Rajabi, A. M. |author3=Noori, H. |year=2008 |title=Birds and mammals in Dash-e Nawar, Afghanistan: occurrence and hunting pressure, 2007 surveys |publisher=Wildlife Conservation Society |location=New York |url=http://stephane.ostrowski.free.fr/pdf/3-2008-001.pdf}}</ref> Pallas's cat was also photographed multiple times in Bamyan Province between 2015 and 2017.<ref name=Moqanaki_al2019/> In Qurumbar National Park, an individual was recorded on a ridge in a juniper dominated forest at {{cvt|3445|m|ft}} in July 2012.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hameed |first1=S. |last2=Ud Din |first2=J. |last3=Shah |first3=K. A. |last4=Kabir |first4=M. |last5=Ayub |first5=M. |last6=Khan |first6=S. |last7=Bischof |first7=R. |last8=Nawaz |first8=D. A. |last9=Nawaz |first9=M. A. |name-list-style=amp |title=Pallas's cat photographed in Qurumber National Park, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan |journal=Cat News |issue=60 |pages=21–22 |year=2014 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264383137}}</ref>
In the Transcaspian Region, its presence was first reported in the Kopet Dag mountains and in the vicinity of the Tedzhen and Murghab Rivers in the late 19th century.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Radde, G. |author-link=Gustav Radde |author2=Walter, A. |name-list-style=amp |year=1889 |title=Die Säugethiere Transkaspiens |trans-title=The mammals of the Transcaspian Region |journal=Zoologische Jahrbücher |volume=IV |pages=993–1094 |url=https://archive.org/stream/zoologischejahrb04jena#page/1012/mode/2up}}</ref> In Turkmenistan's Sünt-Hasardag Nature Reserve, a camera trap recorded an individual in 2019. Pallas's cat is allegedly also present in Köpetdag Nature Reserve.<ref>{{cite report |author1=Kaczensky, P. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Rustamov, E. |author3=Karryeva, S. |author4=Iankov, P. |author5=Hudaykuliev, N. |author6=Saparmyradov, J. |author7=Veyisov, A. |author8=Shestopal, A. |author9=Mengliev, S. |author10=Hojamyradov, H. |author11=Potaeva, A. |author12=Kurbanov, A. |author13=Amanov, A. |author16=Khekimov, G. |author17=Tagiyev, C. |author18=Rosen, T. |author19=Linnell, J. D. C. |year=2019 |title=Rapid assessments of wildlife in Turkmenistan 2018 |publisher=Norwegian Institute for Nature Research |location=Trondheim |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339004314}}</ref>
Historical records of Pallas's cat are known in the Surxondaryo Region and Gissar Range along the border of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.<ref name=Geptner1972/> In Kyrgyzstan, it is present at high elevations of Sarychat-Ertash State Nature Reserve and in the foothills of the Alay Range.<ref name=Barashkova_al2019/> In 2013, a dead female was found in a valley near Engilchek, Kyrgyzstan.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Heddergott, M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Zhumabai uulu, K. |author3=Barashkova, A. N. |author4=Frantz, A. C. |year=2016 |title=First record and molecular identification of ''Toxocara cati'' in a Pallas' cat ''Otocolobus manul'' from Kyrgyzstan |journal=Helminthologia |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=281–284 |doi=10.1515/helmin-2016-0015 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In Kazakhstan, it inhabits the highlands and steppes of central and east Kazakhstan Region, the periphery of the Betpak-Dala Desert, the northern Balkhash District and the Tarbagatai Mountains.<ref name=Barashkova_al2019/>
thumb|The species inhabits grassland on the Ukok Plateau. In the South Siberian Mountains, it inhabits grasslands on the Ukok Plateau and in the Altai, Kuray and Saylyugem Mountains.<ref name=BS2011>{{cite journal |author1=Barashkova, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Smelansky, I. |year=2011 |title=Pallas's cat in the Altai Republic, Russia |journal=Cat News |issue=54 |pages=4–7 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282848826}}</ref> It is also present in Chagan-Uzun and Argut river basins, Mongun-Taiga, Uvs Lake Basin, Sayano-Shushenski Nature Reserve, Tunkinsky National Park, Lake Gusinoye basin and in the interfluves of the Selenga, Chikoy and Khilok rivers.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Barashkova, A. N. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Kirilyuk, V. E. |author3=Smelansky, I. E. |year=2017 |title=Significance of Protected Areas for the Pallas's Cat (''Otocolobus manul'' Felidae) conservation in Russia |journal=Заповедная наука [Nature Conservation Research] |volume=2 |issue=Supplement 1 |pages=113–124 |doi=10.24189/ncr.2017.019 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316818854|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the eastern Sayan Mountains, its presence was documented for the first time in 1997.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Koshkarev, E. |title=Discovery of manul in eastern Sayan |journal=Cat News |issue=29 |pages=12–13 |year=1998}}</ref> In Transbaikal, it inhabits montane steppes at elevations of {{cvt|600-800|m}}, where annual rainfall ranges from {{cvt|150|to|400|mm}}.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Naidenko, S. V. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Pavlova, E. V. |author3=Kirilyuk, V. E. |year=2014 |title=Detection of seasonal weight loss and a serologic survey of potential pathogens in wild Pallas's cats (''Felis [Otocolobus] manul'') of the Daurian steppe, Russia |journal=Journal of Wildlife Diseases |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=188–194 |doi=10.7589/2013-03-068 |pmid=24484481 |s2cid=23627705 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2013, an individual was observed on the Vitim Plateau.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Moroldoev, I. V. |year=2019 |title=New findings of the Pallas's cat in Vitim Plateau (Transbaikalia) |journal=Mongolian Journal of Biological Sciences |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=73–75 |doi=10.22353/mjbs.2019.17.09 |url=https://www.biotaxa.org/mjbs/article/download/58366/58695|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Pallas's cat inhabits the semi-desert steppe of Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve in Mongolia.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Murdoch, J. D. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Munkhzul, T. |author3=Reading, R. P. |year=2006 |title=Pallas' Cat ecology and Conservation in the Semi-desert Steppes of Mongolia |journal=Cat News |issue=45 |pages=18–19 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236014267}}</ref> In Khustain Nuruu National Park and Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, it prefers rocky and rugged habitats that provides cover and camouflage.<ref name=Ross_al2012>{{cite journal |author1=Ross, S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Munkhtsog, B. |author3=Harris, S. |year=2012 |title=Determinants of mesocarnivore range use: relative effects of prey and habitat properties on Pallas's cat home-range size |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=93 |issue=5 |pages=1292–1300 |doi=10.1644/11-MAMM-A-060.1 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Chimed, O. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Alexander, J. S. |author3=Samelius, G. |author4=Lkhagvajav, P. |author5=Davaa, L. |author6=Bayasgalan, N. |author7=Sharma, K. |year=2021 |title=Examining the past and current distribution of Pallas's cat in Southern Mongolia |journal=Mammalian Biology |volume=101 |issue=6 |pages=811–816 |doi=10.1007/s42991-021-00132-3|s2cid=236375513}}</ref> On the Tibetan plateau, two Pallas's cats were observed in undulating alpine meadow amidst plateau pika (''Ochotona curzoniae'') colonies at {{cvt|4087|m}} in western China's Qumarlêb County in 2001. One of them swam across an irrigation channel.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mallon, D. |year=2002 |title=Manul sighting in Qinghai |journal=Cat News |issue=36 |page=18}}</ref> In Gêrzê County, an individual was sighted in desert steppe habitat at an elevation of {{cvt|5050|m}} in 2005.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Fox, J. L. |author2=Dorji, T. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=High elevation record for occurrence of the manul or Pallas' Cat on the northwestern Tibetan plateau, China |journal=Cat News |issue=46 |page=35}}</ref> In 2011, Pallas's cat was photographed in an alpine meadow in the core area of Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Li, J. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Schaller, G. B. |author3=McCarthy, T. M. |author4=Wang, D. |author5=Jiagong, Z. |author6=Cai, P. |author7=Basang, L. |author8=Lu, Z. |year=2013 |title=A communal sign post of Snow Leopards (''Panthera uncia'') and other species on the Tibetan Plateau, China |journal=International Journal of Biodiversity |volume=2013 |article-number=370905 |doi=10.1155/2013/370905 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In Ruoergai, it was observed at several places in habitat that was frequented by pastoralists and their livestock herds.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Webb, R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Pain, D. |author3=McNiven, D. |author4=Francis, S. |year=2014 |title=Pallas's cat in disturbed habitat on the Tibetan Plateau |journal=Cat News |issue=60 |pages=19–20}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Webb, R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Francis, S. |author3=Telfer, P. |author4=Guillemont, A. |year=2016 |title=Chinese mountain Cat and Pallas's Cat co-existing on the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan |journal=Cat News |issue=63 |pages=31–33 |url=http://savemanul.org/docs/Webb_etal_2016_Chinese_mountain_cat_and_Pallas_cat_co-existing_on_Tibetan_Plateau_Sichuan.pdf}}</ref>
thumb|Pallas's cat occurs in alpine pastures of the upper Marshyangdi river valley in the central Himalayas. The presence of Pallas's cat in the Indian Himalayas was first reported in Ladakh's upper Indus Valley in 1991.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Mallon, D. P. |year=1991 |title=Status and Conservation of Large Mammals in Ladakh |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=101–119 |doi=10.1016/0006-3207(91)90092-N |bibcode=1991BCons..56..101M |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222621295}}</ref> In Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Pallas's cats were sighted close by riverbanks at elevations of {{cvt|4202|and|4160|m}} in 2013 and 2015.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mahar |first1=N. |last2=Shrotriya |first2=S. |last3=Habib |first3=B. |last4=Singh |first4=S. |last5=Takpa |first5=J. |last6=Hussain |first6=S. A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |title=Recent records of the Pallas's Cat in Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Ladakh, India |journal=Cat News |issue=65 |pages=36–37 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316075522}}</ref> In Gangotri National Park, a Pallas's cat was photographed in rocky alpine scrub at {{cvt|4800|m}} in 2019.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Pal, R. |author2=Bhattacharya, T. |author3=Sathyakumar, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2019 |title=First record of Pallas's cat in Uttarakhand, Nelang valley, Gangotri National Park, India |journal=Cat News |issue=69 |pages=24–26 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333720054}}</ref> In Sikkim, an individual was observed on a rocky slope at an elevation of {{cvt|5073|m}} in the vicinity of Tso Lhamo Lake in 2007.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Chanchani, P. |year=2008 |title=Sighting of a Manul or Pallas Cat in North Sikkim, India |journal=Cat News |issue=48 |pages=18–19}}</ref> In Arunachal Pradesh, a Pallas's cat was recorded in September 2024 in the rugged high-elevation rangelands of Tawang and West Kameng districts.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lepcha |first=P. D. |date=2025 |title=First photographic record of Pallas's Cat and five other wild cats above 4200 metres captured during a groundbreaking survey in Arunchal Pradesh |work=WWF-India |url=https://www.wwfindia.org/?27922/first-photographic-record-of-pallass-cat |url-status=live |access-date=3 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251103154523/https://www.wwfindia.org/?27922/first-photographic-record-of-pallass-cat |archive-date=3 November 2025}}</ref>
In December 2012, Pallas's cat was recorded for the first time in the Nepal Himalayas. It was photographed in the upper Marshyangdi river valley in alpine pastures at elevations of {{cvt|4200|m|}} and {{cvt|4650|m}} in Annapurna Conservation Area.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Shrestha, B. |author2=Ale, S. |author3=Jackson, R. |author4=Thapa, N. |author5=Gurung, L. P. |author6=Adhikari, S. |author7=Dangol, L. |author8=Basnet, B. |author9=Subedi, N. |author10=Dhakal, M. |name-list-style=amp |title=Nepal's first Pallas's cat |journal=Cat News |issue=60 |pages=23–24 |year=2014 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264081386}}</ref> In Shey-Phoksundo National Park, Pallas's cat scat was detected at {{cvt|5593|m}} in 2016, the globally highest record to date.<ref name=Werhahn_al2018>{{cite journal |author1=Werhahn, G. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Kusi, N. |author3=Karmacharya, D. |author4=Man Sherchan, A. |author5=Manandhar, P. |author6=Manandhar, S. |author7=Bhatta, T. R. |author8=Joshi, J. |author9=Bhattarai, S. |author10=Sharma, A. N. |author11=Kaden, J. |author12=Ghazali, M. |author13=Senn, H. |year=2018 |title=Eurasian lynx and Pallas's cat in Dolpa district of Nepal: genetics, distribution and diet |journal=Cat News |issue=67 |pages=34–36 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325672423}}</ref> In January 2012, it was recorded for the first time in Bhutan, namely in rolling hills dominated by glacial outwash and alpine steppe vegetation in Wangchuck Centennial National Park.<ref>{{cite report |author=WWF Bhutan |date=2012 |title=Near threatened Pallas' Cat found in WCP |publisher=Wangchuck Centennial Park and WWF |url=http://www.wwfbhutan.org/?206453/Near-threatened-Pallas-Cat-found-in-WCP}}</ref> In autumn 2012, it was also photographed at an elevation of {{cvt|4122|m}} in Jigme Dorji National Park.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Thinley, P. |year=2013 |title=First photographic evidence of a Pallas's cat in Jigme Dorji National Park, Bhutan |journal=Cat News |issue=58 |pages=27–28 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279848843}}</ref> In 2019, scat samples of two individuals were found in Sagarmatha National Park, providing the first genetic evidence of the cat's presence in the eastern Himalayas.<ref>{{cite journal |title=First report of Pallas's cat in Sagarmatha National Park – Mount Everest Region, Nepal |author1=Seimon, T. |author2=Lim, M. |author3=Nightingale, B. |author4=Elvin, S. |author5=Elmore, A. |author6=Seimon, A. |journal=Cat News |issue=76 |pages=41–42 |date=2022 |name-list-style=amp |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367476673}}</ref>
==Behaviour and ecology== thumb|Pallas's cat Pallas's cat is solitary.<ref name=Geptner1972/> Of nine Pallas's cat kittens observed in captivity, only the two males scent marked by spraying urine.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Sebeok, T. A. |title=How animals communicate |year=1977 |location=Bloomington |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=0-253-32855-1 |author=Wemmer, C. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Scow, K. |pages=749–766 |chapter=Communication in the Felidae with emphasis on scent marking and contact patterns |chapter-url=https://www.gwern.net/docs/catnip/1977-wemmer.pdf}}</ref>
Pallas's cat uses caves, rock crevices and marmot burrows as shelter.<ref name=Geptner1972/>{{rp|690–691}} In central Mongolia, 29 Pallas's cats were fitted with radio collars between June 2005 and October 2007. They used 101 dens during this time, including 39 winter dens, 42 summer dens and 20 dens for raising kittens. The summer and winter dens usually had one entrance with a diameter of {{cvt|15.6|-|23.4|cm}}. They resided in the summer dens for 2–21 days, and in the winter dens for 2–28 days. Summer and maternal dens were close to rocky habitats with little direct sunlight, whereas winter dens were closer to ravines.<ref name=Ross_al2010>{{cite journal |author1=Ross, S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Kamnitzer, R. |author3=Munkhtsog, B. |author4=Harris, S. |year=2010 |title=Den-site selection is critical for Pallas's cat (''Otocolobus manul'') |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=88 |issue=9 |pages=905–913 |doi=10.1139/Z10-056 |bibcode=2010CaJZ...88..905R}}</ref> The home ranges of 16 females varied from {{cvt|7.4|to|125.2|km2}}. The home ranges of nine males varied from {{cvt|20.9|to|207.0|km2|sqmi}} and overlapped those of one to four females and partly also those of other males. The sizes of their home ranges decreased in winter.<ref name=Ross_al2012/>
In an unprotected area in central Mongolia, Pallas's cats were mainly crepuscular between May and August, but active by day from September to November.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Anile, S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Augugliaro, C. |author3=Munkhtsog, B. |author4=Dartora, F. |author5=Vendramin, A. |author6=Bombieri, G. |author7=Nielsen, C.K. |year=2021 |title=Density and activity patterns of Pallas's cats, ''Otocolobus manul'', in central Mongolia |journal=Wildlife Research |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=264–272 |doi=10.1071/WR20061|bibcode=2021WildR..48..264A |s2cid=234058227}}</ref> Pallas's cats recorded in four study areas in the western Mongolian Altai mountains were also active during the day, but with a lower frequency at sites where livestock was present.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Greco, I. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Oberosler, V. |author3=Monti, I.E. |author4=Augugliaro, C. |author5=Barashkova, A. |author6=Rovero, F. |year=2022 |title=Spatio-temporal occurrence and sensitivity to livestock husbandry of Pallas's cat in the Mongolian Altai |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=86 |issue=1 |article-number=e22150 |doi=10.1002/jwmg.22150 |bibcode=2022JWMan..86E2150G |doi-access=free|hdl=2158/1269515 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
===Hunting and diet=== Pallas's cat is a highly specialised predator of small mammals, which it catches by stalking or ambushing near exits of burrows. It also pulls out rodents with its paws from shallow burrows. In the Altai Mountains, remains of long-tailed ground squirrel (''Urocitellus undulatus''), flat-skulled shrew (''Sorex roboratus''), Pallas's pika (''Ochotona pallasi''), and bird feathers were found near breeding burrows of Pallas's cats. In Transbaikal, it preys on Daurian pika (''Ochotona dauurica''), steppe pika (''O. pusilla''), Daurian ground squirrel (''Spermophilus dauricus''), and young of red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'').<ref name=Geptner1972/>
Scat samples of Pallas's cat collected in the bufferzone of Khustain Nuruu National Park in central Mongolia contained foremost remains of Daurian pika, Mongolian gerbil (''Meriones unguiculatus''), Mongolian silver vole (''Alticola semicanus''), and remains of passerine birds, beetles, and grasshoppers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=S. |last2=Munkhtsog |first2=B. |last3=Harris |first3=S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=Dietary composition, plasticity, and prey selection of Pallas's cats |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=91 |issue=4 |pages=811–817 |doi=10.1644/09-MAMM-A-342.1 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Brandt's vole (''Lasiopodomys brandtii'') dominated in the diet of Pallas's cats in Mongolia's Sükhbaatar Province after the irruptive growth of this vole population during 2017–2020.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baatargal |first1=O. |last2=Suuri |first2=B. |name-list-style=amp |year=2021 |title=Diet of the Pallas's cat (''Otocolobus manul'') in Mongolian steppe habitat during a population peak of Brandt's voles |journal=Journal of Arid Environments |volume=193 |article-number=104583 |doi=10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104583 |bibcode=2021JArEn.193j4583B }}</ref> Scat found in Shey-Phoksundo National Park contained remains of pika species and of woolly hares (''Lepus oiostolus'').<ref name=Werhahn_al2018/> Remains of a cypriniform fish were found in Pallas's cat scat in Gongga Mountain Nature Reserve.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhao |first1=D. |last2=Yang |first2=C. |last3=Ma |first3=J. |last4=Zhang |first4=X. |last5=Ran |first5=J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2020 |title=Vertebrate prey composition analysis of the Pallas's cat (''Otocolobus manul'') in the Gongga Mountain Nature Reserve, based on fecal DNA |journal=Mammalia |volume=84 |issue=5 |pages=449–457 |doi=10.1515/mammalia-2018-0144 |s2cid=213813640}}</ref>
===Reproduction and life cycle=== [[File:Manul_kittens.jpg|thumb|Pallas's cat kittens in Parken Zoo]] The female is sexually mature at the age of about one year.<ref name=Mellen1989>{{cite thesis |author=Mellen, J. |year=1989 |title=Reproductive behavior of small captive cats (''Felis'' ssp.) |type=PhD thesis |location=Davis |publisher=University of California}}</ref> She is in estrus for 26 to 42 hours.<ref name=Schauenberg1978>{{cite journal |author=Schauenberg, P. |year=1978 |title=Note sur la reproduction du manul ''Otocolobus manul'' (Pallas, 1776) |trans-title=Note on the reproduction of the manul |journal=Mammalia |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=355–358 |doi=10.1515/mamm.1978.42.3.355 |s2cid=83986577}}</ref> Gestation lasts 66 to 75 days.<ref name=Mellen1989/><ref name=Schauenberg1978/>
A captive male Pallas's cat housed under natural lighting conditions showed increased aggressive and territorial behaviour at the onset of the breeding season, lasting from September to December. Its blood contained three times more testosterone than in the non-breeding season, and its ejaculate was more concentrated with more normal sperm forms and a higher motility of sperm.<ref name=Swanson1996>{{cite journal |author1=Swanson, W. F. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Brown, J. L. |author3=Wildt, D. E. |year=1996 |title=Influence of seasonality on reproductive traits of the male Pallas' cat (''Felis manul'') and implications for captive management |journal=Journal of Zoo Wildlife Medicine |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=234–240 |jstor=20095570 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/448/Swanson1996.pdf}}</ref>
In the wild, the female gives birth to a litter of two to six kittens between the end of April and late May. The newborn kittens' fur is fuzzy, and their eyes are closed until the age of about two weeks.<ref name=Geptner1972/>{{rp|693}} A newborn male kitten born in a zoo weighed {{cvt|89|g|oz}}, measured {{cvt|12.3|cm|in}} and had a {{cvt|5.5|cm|in}} long tail.<ref name=Mellen1989/>
In central Mongolia, seven females with kittens were observed using 20 dens for 4–60 days. Their maternal dens were either among rocks, or in former burrows of the Tarbagan marmot (''Marmota sibirica''), and had at least two entrances.<ref name=Ross_al2010/> In Iran, a Pallas's cat was observed using cavities of aged Greek juniper (''Juniperus excelsa'') as breeding dens for a litter of four kittens.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Dibadj, P. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Jafari, B. |author3=Nejat, F. |author4=Qashqaei, A.T. |author5=Ross, S. |year=2018 |title=Maternal habitat use of ''Juniperus excelsa'' woodland by Pallas's cat ''Otocolobus manul'' in Iran |journal=Zoology and Ecology |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=421–424 |doi=10.1080/21658005.2018.1520722 |bibcode=2018ZooEc..28..421D |s2cid=92407176 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327475626}}</ref>
Two-month-old kittens weigh {{cvt|500-600|g|oz|1}}, and their fur gradually grows longer. They start hunting at the age of about five months and reach adult size by the age of six to seven months.<ref name=Geptner1972/>{{rp|694}}
==Threats== In China, Mongolia and Russia, Pallas's cat was once hunted for its fur in large numbers of more than 10,000 skins annually. In China and the former Soviet Union, hunting of Pallas's cat decreased in the 1970s when it became legally protected. Mongolia exported 9,185 skins in 1987, but international trade has ceased since 1988.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nowell |first1=K. |last2=Jackson |first2=P. |name-list-style=amp |title=Wild Cats: status survey and conservation action plan |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |location=Gland, Switzerland |year=1996 |chapter=Manul ''Octobulus manul'' (Pallas, 1776) |pages=97–99 |chapter-url=http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf#page=122}}</ref> However, domestic trade of its skins and body parts for medicinal purposes continues in the country, and it may be hunted throughout the year.<ref name=Wingard2006>{{cite report |author1=Wingard, J.R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Zahler, P. |year=2006 |title=Silent steppe: the illegal wildlife trade crisis in Mongolia |publisher=World Bank and Wildlife Conservation Society |location=Washington, DC |series=Mongolia Discussion Papers, East Asia and Pacific Environment and Social Development Department |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305044301}}</ref>
Cases of herding dogs killing Pallas's cats were reported in Iran, Kazakhstan and the Altai Republic.<ref name=Farhadinia_al2016/><ref name=BS2011/><ref name=Barashkova_al2019/> Pallas's cats have also fallen victim in traps set for small mammals in Kazakhstan and in the Altai Republic. In Transbaikal, Pallas's cat is threatened by poaching. In Mongolia, the use of the rodenticide bromadiolone in the frame of rodent control measures in the early 21st century poisoned the prey base of carnivores and raptors.<ref name=Barashkova_al2019/> In the Sanjiangyuan region of the Tibetan Plateau, {{convert|54147|km2|sqmi|frac=4|abbr=on}} of grassland was poisoned between 2005 and 2009, leading to an estimated loss of {{convert|50000-80000|t|ST|abbr=off}} of pika biomass.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Wu, L. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Wang, H. |year=2017 |title=Poisoning the pika: Must protection of grasslands be at the expense of biodiversity |journal=Science China Life Sciences |volume=60 |issue=5 |pages=545–547 |doi=10.1007/s11427-016-0222-0 |pmid=28074383 |s2cid=1958298 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312391534}}</ref> Pallas's cat may be negatively affected by habitat fragmentation due to mining and infrastructure projects.<ref name=iucn />
==Conservation== thumb|Pallas's cat on the Russian Federation two-ruble coin, silver, reverse. Pallas's cat is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2020 because of its wide-spread range and assumed large global population. It is listed in CITES Appendix II. Hunting it is prohibited in all range countries except Mongolia. Since 2009, it is legally protected in Afghanistan, where all hunting and trade with its body parts is banned.<ref name=iucn/> On the Mongolian Red List of Mammals, it is listed as Near Threatened since 2006.<ref name=Wingard2006/> In China, it is listed as Endangered.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Smith, A. T. |editor2=Xie, Y. |year=2008 |title=A Guide to the Mammals of China |author=Wozencraft, W. C. |location=Princeton |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-3411-2 |page=395 |chapter=Pallas' cat}}</ref> In Turkmenistan, it is proposed to be listed as Critically Endangered due to the scarcity of contemporary records.<ref>{{cite book |author=Rustamov, E. A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Belousova, А. В. |editor=Bannikov, A. G. |year=2020 |title=Aktual'nyye voprosy zoologii, ekologii i okhrany prirody |trans-title=Topical issues of zoology, ecology and nature protection |location=Moscow |publisher=ЗооВетКнига |pages=147–154 |chapter=O mlekopitayushchikh, predlagayemykh dlya zaneseniya v novoye izdaniye Krasnoy Knigi Turkmenistana (2021) [About mammals proposed for inclusion in the new edition of the Red Book of Turkmenistan (2021)] |chapter-url=http://earaza.ru/wp-content/uploads/20200527_bannikov.pdf#page=148 |archive-date=2024-09-30 |access-date=2021-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930222721/http://earaza.ru/wp-content/uploads/20200527_bannikov.pdf#page=148}}</ref>
===In captivity=== Between 1951 and 1979, the Beijing Zoo kept 16 Pallas's cats, but they lived for less than three years.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Jutzeler, E. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Xie, Y. |author3=Vogt, K. |year=2010 |title=The smaller felids of China. Pallas's cat |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 5 |pages=37–39}}</ref> In 1984, Pallas's cat was designated as a priority species for captive breeding of the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums's Species Survival Plan.<ref>{{cite book |author=Wildt, D. E. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Mellen, J. D. |year=1984 |title=Felid Action Plan |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Felid Taxon Advisory Group, National Zoological Park}}</ref> Almost half of the kittens born in member zoos died within the first 30 days, reaching the highest mortality rate in captivity of any small wild cat.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bray, S. |title=Pallas' Cat PMP |journal=Felid TAG Times |volume=3 |date=2010 |url=http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/AZA/FelidTAG/Newsletter/2010May.pdf |access-date=2013-02-08 |archive-date=2013-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514073149/http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/AZA/FelidTAG/Newsletter/2010May.pdf}}</ref>
Zoos in the former Soviet Union received most of the wild-caught Pallas's cats from the Transbaikal region and a few from Mongolia. Moscow Zoo initiated a studbook for Pallas's cat in 1997. Since 2004, Pallas's cat international studbook has been managed by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which also coordinates the captive breeding program for Pallas's cat within the European Endangered Species Programme. As of 2018, 177 Pallas's cats were kept in 60 zoos in Europe, Russia, North America and Japan.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Barclay, D. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Nygren, E. |author3=Alekseicheva, I. |author4=Nelson, A.-L. |author5=Swanson, B. |year=2019 |title=Ex-situ conservation of manul |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 13 |pages=41–45}}</ref>
In 2011, a female Pallas's cat was artificially inseminated for the first time with semen from the male at the Cincinnati Zoo. After 69 days, she gave birth to four kittens, of which one was stillborn.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Oyuntuya, B. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Swanson, W. |author3=Campbell, M. |author4=Bateman, H. |author5=Herrick, J. |author6=Lambo, C. |author7=Brown, M. |author8=Fine, A. |author9=Ross, S. |author10=Munkhtsog, B. |author11=Kreider, C. |author12=Travis, E. |author13=Beyea, L. |author14=Barrie, M. |author15=Samiya, R. |year=2012 |title=Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians |chapter=Creating Gene Flow between wild and captive Pallas Cats (''Otocolobus manul'') through assisted Reproduction with frozen Semen |publisher=American Association of Zoo Veterinarians |location=Yulee |pages=168–169 |chapter-url=http://aazv.conferencespot.org/56964-aazv-2012-1.1315528/t-001-1.1316224/f-001-1.1316225/a-093-1.1316433/ap-093-1.1316436}}</ref>
== In popular culture == Pallas's cat is featured in a Russian Internet meme known as "Pet the cat" introduced in 2008; the meme is a picture of a Pallas's cat that invites the reader to pet it in the image's caption.<ref>{{cite web |author=Roganov, S. |date=2008 |url=http://aif.ru/society/article/22354 |title=Кот манул – новая звезда Рунета |trans-title=The manul cat is a new star of the Runet |work=Argumenty i Facty}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2008 |author=Giunter, A. |title=Манул стал культовым котом Рунета |trans-title=The manul has become a cult figure on the Runet |url=http://rus.postimees.ee/211008/glavnaja/kalejdoskop/42660.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024115609/http://rus.postimees.ee/211008/glavnaja/kalejdoskop/42660.php |archive-date=2008-10-24 |work=Postimees}}</ref> In 2012, Pallas's cat became the mascot of Moscow Zoo.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012 |author=Администрация Московского зоопарка |title=Подведены итоги голосования «Талисман зоопарка» |trans-title=The results of the Zoo Mascot voting have been summed up |language=ru |url=http://www.moscowzoo.ru/get.asp?Id=N567 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009014811/http://www.moscowzoo.ru/get.asp?Id=N567 |archive-date=9 October 2012 |access-date=26 June 2024 |work=Moscow Zoo}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Otocolobus manul|Pallas's cat}} {{Wikispecies|Felis manul|Pallas's cat}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=103|website=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group|title=Pallas's cat ''Otocolobus manul''}} * {{cite web|url=https://savemanul.org|title=Manul Working Group}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.pallas-cat.wild-cat.org|title=Pallas's Cat Working Group (outdated)}} * {{cite AV media|date=2020|title=Wildlife Instincts: Pallas's Cat – Master of the Plains|publisher=Free Documentary Nature|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaOJz4h6P64|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/YaOJz4h6P64|archive-date=2021-12-12|url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}
{{Carnivora|Fe.}} {{Feliformia|Fel.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q166794}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:cat, Pallas's}} Pallas's cat Pallas's cat Category:IUCN Red List least concern species Pallas's cat Category:Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas