Otocolobus manul

If you've ever had the displeasure of seeing my Twitter you definitely recognise this one. Say hi to the Pallas's cat- or rather, the manul.

Pallas's cat/Manul

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Felidae

Genus

Otocolobus

Common name(s)

Pallas's cat, Pallas cat, manul

History

The manul was first "officially" observed in the 18th century by some Prussian dude named Peter Simon Pallas- hence, their common name. Pallas(the man, not the cat) actually discovered several other animals in the territory of the Russian empire so there's a lot of species with his name tacked onto their common names(ex. Pallas's squirrel, Pallas's cormorant...)

Description

Manuls are stockier than .

Habitat

Distribution broadly ranges from west to central Asia. Areas where manuls have been found include but are not limited to: Mongolia, Iran, Russia, Bhutan, China, Kazakhstan, Tibet.

Threats and conservation

As of 2024, the IUCN has listed the manul as "Least Concern." They were previously listed as Not Threatened.

Unfortunately it's believed that the wild manul population is decreasing. The main threats are large scale poisoning of pika and vole populations- important prey items, habitat loss, and fur hunting.

Fun facts

• "Manul" is a loanword from Russian(манул - manul), which itself is a loanword from Mongolian(мануул - manuul). In Mongolian the word means "small wildcat."
• The manul's genus name(Otocolobus) is derived from Greek and means "ugly-eared."
• Pallas(again, the man, not the cat) thought manuls were the long lost ancestors of the domestic Persian cat breed. He was wrong.

Where to see one IRL

Obviously, zoos. Zoo Institutes has some but not all listed. r/PallasCats is also a good place to ask around and just look at cute pics.

But no matter where you go you might not get to see one as they're very shy.