Pallas' Cat, the Ghost Cat which is Threatened in its Habitat

Most people definitely like this cute and furry animal. Its adorable behaviour can entertain its owners. Cats are one type of pet most loved by both young and old. However, some types of cats, including the Pallas Cat, cannot be kept like other domestic cats because they are wild and dangerous.

This round, fat one has the scientific name Otocolobus manul syn. Felis Manul, also called Manul Cat. Peter Simon Pallas was the person who first described the Pallas Cat species in 1776. Therefore, the small wild cat was named Pallas. In its habitat, the Pallas' Cat is considered to be nearly endangered due to its uneven distribution in the steppes and grasslands of Central Asia.

Characteristics of Pallas' Cat

Pallas' cat has yellowish fur with dark vertical lines on the front legs and torso. In winter, the color is greyer and less patterned than the fur of other seasons. It has a black ring on its tail, while its cheeks, chin and throat are white, and a thin black line along the corner of its eye.

The size of this cute cat is not much different from domestic cats, weighing 2.5 to 4.5 kg with a body length of 46 to 65 cm and a tail of 21 to 31 cm. The legs are short compared to other cats, the ears are low and wide, and the claws are short. Its face is short, giving the impression of being flat, with a short jaw, making it have fewer teeth and causing it to appear stockier, shorter and rounder than other cats thanks to its thick fur coat.

Whether male or female, Pallas' Cats live alone by making a scent to mark their territory. Pallas' cats are also known as bad runners, and they hunt prey by stalking or ambushing by taking advantage of the environment in which they live—Pallas' cat preys on mice, Chukar partridges, or young marmots as food.

Pallas' Cat Reproduction

Pallas' Cats reproduce between December and March, with a relatively short breeding season. The estrus period (periodic physiological changes in female mammals of the order Theria caused by reproductive hormones) lasts 26 and 42 hours, shorter than other felis. A female Pallas cat can give birth to two to six kittens in a nest protected by dry vegetation and fur. Pallas' Cat cubs grow quickly, can start hunting at four months, and reach the size of an adult Pallas' Cat at six months.

Even though they have reproduced, Pallas' Cats will continue to live alone, and they guard their territory from other Pallas' cats.

History of Pallas' Cat

Initially, Pallas' Cat was placed in the genus Felis. However, in 1858, Nikolai Severtzov, a Russian explorer and naturalist, proposed the name Otocolobus. It was recognized in 1907 by British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock, who considered the Manul form to deviate from Felis, which was then placed with Prionailurus in the Felini tribe and genus Felis based on a close phylogenetic relationship. The divergence of Otocolobus Manul from its ancestral leopard cat was approximately 5,190,000 years ago.

Pallas' Cat Habitat

Pallas' cat is often seen in the grassland steppes of Central Asia, Mongolia, the Tibetan Plateau and China. Widespread in the regions of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In Russia, they can be found occasionally in the Transcaucasus and Transbaikal, along the borders of Mongolia and China.

In 1997, a track or track used by Pallas' Cat in East Sayan was discovered at an altitude of 8,100 feet or 2,470 m in a thick layer of snow. This is considered the first fact that proves Pallas inhabited the area. Stool analysis confirmed the presence of the species. In 2008, for the first time, a Pallas was caught on camera in Iran's Khorjir National Park. Populations in the Caspian Sea region, Afghanistan and Pakistan are starting to decrease and become isolated and are rarely seen anymore.

Threats Befalling Pallas' Cat

For a long time, Pallas' or Manul's cats have been hunted for their fur in large numbers in Mongolia, China and Russia. International trade in Pallas' Cat fur has largely ceased since the 1980s. About 1,000 hunters harvest two Pallas' Cats per year. Sometimes, they are also shot because they are thought to be marmots, which are commonly hunted. The organs and fat are made into herbal medicine or killed by domestic dogs.

Pallas' Cat Conservation Efforts

Manul's Otocolobus or Pallas' Cat is listed in CITES Appendix II. They are prohibited from hunting in all countries except around Mongolia because they have no legal protection even though they are listed as Near Threatened. Pallas' Cats are legally protected in Afghanistan, prohibiting all forms of labour or trade within the country since 2009.

Pallas' cats are animals that are difficult to breed in captivity. Even though they can reproduce well and healthily, their survival rate is low because of the threat of infection. This is related to the immune system being less able to develop due to the Pallas Cat's habitat being isolated and having very little chance of getting infected, making it vulnerable to infections in areas not its natural habitat.

In June 2011, a female was artificially inseminated and gave birth to three kittens at the Cincinnati Zoo for the first time. It is recorded that Pallas' Cat has lived up to eleven years in captivity.

Even though the Pallas Cat's body is cute, stocky and has thick fur, that doesn't mean it can be looked after like other domestic cats. Its solitary nature and very territorial attitude towards its territory are some of the factors why the Pallas Cat is rarely kept, especially since it is still a category of wild cat, which does not rule out the possibility of being able to injure humans.

Loving and caring for Pallas' Cats is not just about caring for them. As a human being with a conscience and sense, another way to be done for these sweet creatures' survival is to protect the habitat of Pallas' Cats and, ,prohibit hunting them.

Image source: wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pallas_cat.webp