Similar in size to a housecat, the Pallas’ cat, Octocolobus manul, is a predator specialized to live in the mountainous regions of central Asia. Its greatest populations are found in Mongolia. Typical habitat inhabited by the Pallas’ cat includes rocky steppe, woodland and semi-desert where it withstands an arid and cold climate with temperatures that reach lows nearing -60°F. A thick coat of shaggy fur and a long, bushy tail help combat these extreme temperatures.
The preferred prey of the Pallas’ cat is the pika, a small rabbit-like rodent. It also hunts marmots, hares, gerbils, other small mammals and the occasional bird. While not an adept runner, the Pallas’ cat is an expert ambush predator. Once it spots a prey animal, the cat creeps up slowly, masking its approach by hiding behind whatever vegetative cover is available. Its pale, grey coat also affords it cover, blending in with the surrounding rocks. A flat forehead and low ears allow the cat to peek over bushes and rocks without exposing much of itself to the unwary prey.
The first basic behavior and ecology studies on the Pallas’ cat are currently under way yet it is already clear that they are facing some serious threats to their survival in the wild. It has a long history of collection for its pelt and though harvests have declined in recent years, hunting of Pallas’ cats persists. Even more threatening, however, is that people are wiping out populations of pika, which is viewed as a pest and a competitor with livestock for grazing. Poisoning regimes not only kill pikas and reduce their availability to Pallas’ cats; they also affect the health of cats that eat poisoned prey.

The Power of Science
The Pallas’ cat could be the poster child among small cats for demonstrating the power of science for species conservation. Importation of Pallas’ cats from Russia in the mid-1990s as a founder population for North American zoos was followed by frustration in getting these cats to breed and their offspring to survive. Research at CREW and the National Zoological Park established that Pallas’ cats have a pronounced reproductive seasonality controlled by light exposure and that newborns are extremely susceptible to infection with a parasite called Toxoplasma. Improved reproductive and disease management based on these findings has enabled the captive population to grow from 20 cats at seven institutions in 1996 to more than 70 cats in 15 zoos today. Another key to this success was our comparative health studies with wild Pallas’ cats in Mongolia. Research conducted by CREW collaborator Dr. Meredith Brown determined that Pallas’ cats are rarely exposed to Toxoplasma in the wild and likely lack strong immunity to this parasite. An ongoing study in Mongolia, supported by the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, is using radiotelemetry to measure range sizes of wild Pallas’ cats. One surprising finding is that the natural ranges of Pallas’ cats are much larger than for other small cats, suggesting the existence of fewer wild Pallas’ cats than predicted by body size alone. This observation reinforces the need to monitor threats, such as hunting and rodenticide application, that may be affecting survival of the wild population.

Link to Pallas' Cat Conservation Project Home Page

Earth Expeditions, Mongolia: Steppe Ecology & Conservation

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has partnered with Project Dragonfly at Miami University to create Earth Expeditions, a global conservation education program offering university courses traveling to pivotal hotspots in Africa, Asia, and the Americas to engage in inquiry and action projects on vital issues in conservation. In the Earth Expeditions course, Mongolia: Steppe Ecology & Conservation, Earth Expeditions students will visit the site of the Pallas Cat Conservation Project and interact with local and international researchers. To learn more and to apply for this exciting program, we invite you to visit us at: http://www.earthexpeditions.org.