Endangered Species - Pallas Cat The Pallas Cat is a small Asian cat ranging from the eastern shoreline of the Caspian Sea and Iran to western China, central Kazakhstan, the Altai Mountains and Inner Mongolia and reaching Tibet and Ladakha. The Pallas cat was named after a German naturalist, Peter Pallas, who discovered the species in 1778. He also noted that the cat was missing the front pre-molar teeth, giving it 28 teeth instead of 30, as found in most felines. These cats inhabit both desert and the rocky terrain and woodlands of the mountain steppe environments where they have been observed on rocky plateaus at altitudes of 13,000 feet.
Although the Pallas Cat is not technically on the endangered species list, its status is close enough. This beautiful and unique creature faces extinction due to a multitude of threats. It is globally listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN (www.iunc.org) and ranked as a CITES (www.cites.org) Appendix II species. In Mongolia, work done by the Denver Zoo's Mongolia Program identified key threats to the species in 2003.
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The most severe threat identified is from widespread over-hunting and illegal poaching. Pallas cats are hunted throughout Mongolia for their fur and body parts that are sold mainly to the medicinal markets of eastern Asia, and are also sought for the pet trade in some international markets. Western China's annual harvest (excluding Inner Mongolia and Manchuria) in the early 1950s was approximately 10,000 skins. Annual take in Mongolia during the early 1900s was reportedly as high as 50,000 skins per year. From1958 to 1968 harvests averaged 6,500 animals annually, and in the mid-1970s, the annual harvest in Afghanistan was estimated to be 7,000. Harvests in the former Soviet Union declined during the 1970s, suggesting a decrease in abundance, as they also did in China during the 1970s and 80s prior to the extension of legal protection to the species.
Mongolia became the principal exporter in the 1980s, with 9,185 skins exported in 1987 until hunting was prohibited in 1988 and exports essentially ceased. In recent years, Pallas cats have disappeared from much of the Caspian region and from the easternmost parts of its range in China due to over-hunting. Poisoning to control pika populations have taken place on a large scale in parts of the Russian Federation (southwest Transbaikalia, Tuvinskaya, Altai Mountains) where they are considered to be vectors for plague, and in parts of China (Qinghai, Gansu and Inner Mongolia) where they are considered competitors of domestic livestock for grass. As a result, Pallas cats face shortages of prey in some areas as well as suffering threats from secondary poisoning.
The scientific classification of this creature is: Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Carnivora, Family: Felidae, Genus: Felis, Species: Felis Manual. Its binomial name is Otocolobus manual. The other name for the Pallas cat is Manual. The word "manual" was borrowed from the Mongolian language. Manual is more preferable to those who live in Russia and other Asiatic countries.
It is oldest living species of the cat family, evolving some ten million years ago and is similar to the lynx in facial appearance, with a large, sturdy body and short legs. It is roughly the size of a domestic cat with a short, broad head and large, beautiful, round eyes. Its blunt wide-set ears are set low, giving the cat an owl-like appearance. Its long, silky coat varies in color from light gray to russet brown, with white tips to its hairs giving a sparkling, almost iridescent appearance. There are dark lines on its cheek, rings on its tail, and its lips, chin, and throat are white.
Pallas cats look much heavier than they really are due to their stocky build and thick coat and are well adapted to their habitat of steppes, cold deserts and rocky country in central Asia. The thick fur coat insulates them against the cold, and the well furred tail can be wrapped around the body like a warm muff. The well developed nictitating membrane (third eyelid) may afford protection against both the cold winds and the regular dust storms which arise in parts of their range.
Peter Pallas first suggested that this was the ancestor of the long-haired Persian breeds of domestic cats because of its long hair, stocky build and flattened face. The hair on its belly and tail is nearly twice as long as on the top and sides. This keeps this little animal warm when it hunts on snow, cold rock or frozen ground. Pallas cats weigh between 4.5- 10 lbs. I first became interested in the Pallas cat while doing some research on the Internet and found a website called bigcatrescue.org. This organization rescues abused and unwanted cats, either domestic or wild. When I first saw the picture of this cat, I thought it was one of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen and I wanted to learn more. Although it resembles a domestic cat in size, these creatures are completely fierce: just look into their eyes. Every picture I have seen of a Pallas cat shows a creature who will not be tamed. They are able to climb rocky crevices and cliff faces with ease. The flat head and low set ears are thought to be adaptations for stalking prey in open areas with relatively little cover. These cats feed on a variety of small mammals including pikas, voles, marmots and ground squirrels, as well as a number of different birds including larks, sandgrouse and ptarmigan.
They hide away for much of the day in caves or hollows under stones, or may adopt the burrows of other creatures such as marmots or foxes. Like the majority of cats, the Pallas cat is largely a solitary creature. Females have territories that may cover as much as 8 square kilometers, and males are usually free-roaming across those territories. Except for the mating season, contact between cats may well lead to fierce fights unless a local hierarchy has been established. Dens are made deep in piles of boulders, and in here females give birth once a year to litters of cubs. Females can have up to 6 to 8 kittens after a gestation of 66-75 days, and are typically born in late April and May. They reach sexual maturity around 12 months old. They have a life span of twelve years, good black and white vision, excellent smell and hearing. Their whiskers add detail such as wind direction and vibration.
Unfortunately, the Pallas cat is one of the least studied wild cats in the world but that is slowly changing. In conducting this research, I have found several programs that are trying save this little cat. The one I liked best is the Pallas Cat Study and Conservation Program. Members of this program are committed to conserving the Pallas' cat and it natural habitat in Central Asia, conducting research on all aspects of the Pallas cat's biology and promoting environmental education and awareness concerning Pallas cat's habitat and species conservation. This program also has a number of organizations that support their efforts to save this beautiful creature from extinction. They include: the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Columbus Zoo, Disney's Wild Animal Kingdom Conservation Award, Wild about Cats, Woodland Park Zoo, and Philadelphia Zoo.
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