Manul Wild Cat

The Pallas’s cat range extends from the Caucasus eastward to Central Asia, Southern Russia, Mongolia and adjacent parts of Dzhungaria and the Tibetan Plateau. In Kazakhstan, the species is often found in mountainous steppe, semi-desert foothills, and other open, rocky landscapes.

Manuls are sedentary in nature. That behavior, coupled with their short legs and compact bodies, makes them poor runners and the slowest moving among wild cats. Its thick and luxurious coat of fur notwithstanding, this cat is poorly adapted to moving and hunting in snow. Naturally secretive, territorial, and solitary, males and females come together only for a very short time to mate. Mating occurs between December and March and females give birth to a litter of two to six kittens in April-May. Mothers stay with their young until the kittens are ready to hunt on their own, typically around six months of age.

Pallas’s cats are nocturnal, spending their days in abandoned marmot holes or burrows made by other animals, emerging toward dusk to hunt. They target small prey such as pikas, voles, birds, and hares. The feline’s dependency on shelters made by other threatened species, such as the Siberian marmot, increases their vulnerability.

Habitat degradation and fragmentation resulting from growing livestock populations, infrastruc­ture development, and resource extraction pose serious threats to Pallas’s cat. In Kazakhstan especially, farming—where large areas of secondary steppe grassland are being converted into arable pastures—results in increased isolation and fragmentation of habitat for local Pallas’s cat populations.

Despite international trading bans and legal protections in some countries, the Pallas’s cat is often hunted in-country for its pelt, endangering populations. The fat and organs of Pallas’s cats are used as medicine in Mongolia and Russia. Accidental hunting, when the cats are mistaken for marmots, is also a threat, as are free-roaming dogs that harass and even kill these cats.

The effects of climate change on grasslands and mountain ecosystems of Central Asia—especially as concerns the altering of seasonal patterns—may also negatively impact conservation of Pallas’s cats. Manuls build up energy reserves in summer when prey is abundant, and timing reproduction in late winter when prey availability is low. Changing seasonal patterns affects Pallas’s cat ability to balance energy reserves.

As noted above, the IUCN Red List classifies Pallas’s cat as “Least Concern.” In Red Lists and Red Books maintained in the Manul’s range countries, national conservation status varies. The Red Book of Kazakhstan lists the species as “rare” as of 2011.

Protecting the Pallas’s cat requires considerable collaboration, education, patience, and cooperation. The Manul Working Group (or Pallas’s Cat Working Group), established in 2012, brings together scientists, researchers, and specialists to protect the Pallas’s cat and ensure their continued existence, as well as their native habitats. Activities conducted by that group include research and monitoring studies of Manul ecology and behavior to identify human-induced threats and to create and implement solutions. The working group also seeks to strengthen existing and create new protected areas and other forms of protection to conserve Manul, its prey, and habitats, among other measures.

The Pallas’s Cat International Conservation Alliance and partners initiated development of the “1st Global Conservation Strategy for Pallas’s Cats” in 2018. The strategy acts as a catalyst for prioritizing and implementing future conservation action.

The cat takes its name from German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas (1741-1811), who observed it in the vicinity of Lake Baikal in 1776. Pallas was the first person to publish a detailed description of the mysterious feline, definitive enough to establish the basis for a scientific record. Pallas classified the cat as Felis manul (“manul” has Mongolian language roots). Its current scientific name, Otocolobus manul or “ugly-eared,” derives from Greek.