Pallas’s Cat

Source: TOI

Context: A WWF-India survey in Arunachal Pradesh has captured the first photographic evidence of Pallas’s cat in the state, reaffirming the eastern Himalayas as a global biodiversity hotspot.

About Pallas’s Cat:

• What it is? Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul), also called manul, is a small wild cat species believed to be one of the oldest surviving felines, diverging ~5.2 million years ago. It resembles a domestic cat in size but looks stockier due to its dense coat.

• Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul), also called manul, is a small wild cat species believed to be one of the oldest surviving felines, diverging ~5.2 million years ago.

• It resembles a domestic cat in size but looks stockier due to its dense coat.

• Found in: Native to Central Asia – particularly Mongolia, China, and parts of Russia. Recently photographed in Arunachal Pradesh, extending its known eastern Himalayan range beyond Bhutan & Sikkim.

• Native to Central Asia – particularly Mongolia, China, and parts of Russia.

• Recently photographed in Arunachal Pradesh, extending its known eastern Himalayan range beyond Bhutan & Sikkim.

• Habitat: High-altitude grasslands, rocky steppes, and cold deserts. Recorded at elevations close to 5,000 metres in the eastern Himalayas.

• High-altitude grasslands, rocky steppes, and cold deserts.

• Recorded at elevations close to 5,000 metres in the eastern Himalayas.

• Features: Short legs, rounded low-set ears, and a dense fur coat that changes with seasons for camouflage. Ambush predator, hunting rodents, pikas, lizards, and small birds. Distinctive yelping call, unlike most cats, and rounded pupils instead of vertical slits. Lifespan: ~8–9 years in the wild; solitary and secretive, mostly nocturnal/crepuscular.

• Short legs, rounded low-set ears, and a dense fur coat that changes with seasons for camouflage.

• Ambush predator, hunting rodents, pikas, lizards, and small birds.

• Distinctive yelping call, unlike most cats, and rounded pupils instead of vertical slits.

• Lifespan: ~8–9 years in the wild; solitary and secretive, mostly nocturnal/crepuscular.

• Significance: A rare and elusive species, considered a milestone discovery in Indian wildlife research. Strengthens ecological understanding of the eastern Himalayas as a biodiversity hotspot.

• A rare and elusive species, considered a milestone discovery in Indian wildlife research.

• Strengthens ecological understanding of the eastern Himalayas as a biodiversity hotspot.