Wildlifeof Bhutan
Pallas's Cat
Cats
Photo: Barry Stewart · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Otocolobus manul
Basic stats
Diet
Mainly lagomorphs and rodents
Habitat
Rocky montane grassland and shrubland with little snow cover; alpine steppe in Bhutan
Range
Central Asia, Mongolia and China; in Bhutan, Wangchuck Centennial and Jigme Dorji National Parks
Size
Head and body 46–65cm; tail 21–31cm
Weight
2.5–4.5kg
Pallas's cat, or manul, is a small wild cat with long, dense light-grey fur and rounded ears set low on the sides of the head. The fur is greyer and denser in winter, the forehead carries small black spots, two black zigzag lines run along each cheek, and the chin and lips are white (Wikipedia, general species account).
In Bhutan it was recorded for the first time in January 2012, in rolling hills of glacial outwash and alpine steppe in Wangchuck Centennial National Park. In autumn 2012 it was also photographed at 4,122m in Jigme Dorji National Park. It shelters in rock crevices, caves and marmot burrows and hunts mainly lagomorphs and rodents.
Quick answers
- What does the Pallas's Cat eat?
- Mainly lagomorphs and rodents
- What habitat does the Pallas's Cat live in?
- Rocky montane grassland and shrubland with little snow cover; alpine steppe in Bhutan
- Where is the Pallas's Cat found?
- Central Asia, Mongolia and China; in Bhutan, Wangchuck Centennial and Jigme Dorji National Parks
- How big is the Pallas's Cat?
- Head and body 46–65cm; tail 21–31cm
- How much does the Pallas's Cat weigh?
- 2.5–4.5kg