Pallas' Cat

I was drawn into a wiki expedition of the felis genus by way of a mention, on the second not the nine o'clock news special, of the the surrey panther. And found this beauty, so i thought that i'd share.

Not looking that pleased in this image. heh.

Anyway.

  Quote

http://en.wikipedia....ki/Pallas's_Cat

 

 

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Characteristics

 

Pallas's cat is about the size of a domestic cat, with a 46 to 65 centimetres (18 to 26 in) long body and a 21 to 31 centimetres (8.3 to 12 in) long tail. It weighs 2.5 to 4.5 kilograms (5.5 to 9.9 lb). The combination of its stocky posture and long, dense fur makes it appear stout and plushy. Its fur is ochre with dark vertical bars on the torso and forelegs. The winter coat is greyer and less patterned than the summer coat. There are clear black rings on the tail and dark spots on the forehead. The cheeks are white with narrow black stripes running from the corners of the eyes. The chin and throat are also white, merging into the greyish silky fur of the underparts. Concentric white and black rims around the eyes accentuate their rounded shape. The legs are proportionately shorter than those of other cats, the ears are set very low and wide apart, and it has unusually short claws. The face is shortened compared with other cats, giving it a flattened face. The shorter jaw has fewer teeth than is usual among felids, with the first pair of upper premolars being absent.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

 

Pallas's cat is native to the steppe regions of Central Asia, at elevations up to 5,050 metres (16,570 ft).^[5] They are found in the Transcaucasus and Transbaikal regions of Russia, and, less frequently, in the Altai, Tyva, and Buryatia Republics. They also inhabit Kyrgyzstan,Pakistan,Kazakhstan, Mongolia,Kashmir and across much of western China, especially in the Tibetan Plateau.^[6] In 1997, they were reported for the first time as being present in the eastern Sayan Mountains.^[7]

Populations in the Caspian Sea region, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, are declining, and increasingly isolated.^[8][9] In 2008, an individual was camera-trapped in Iran's Khojir National Park for the first time.^[10]

Distribution of subspecies

 

 

 

Pallas's cat at the Edinburgh Zoo

Three subspecies are recognized:^[11][1]

• Otocolobus manul manul (Pallas, 1776) — inhabits the northern part of the range: Jida River, south of Lake Baikal, eastern Siberia;
  
• Otocolobus manul nigripecta (Hodgson, 1842) — inhabits Tibet and Indian Kashmir;
  
• Otocolobus manul ferruginea (Ognev, 1928) — inhabits the south-western part of the range: the mountain ridge of Missanev, Kopet-Dag Mountains, Transcapia, northern Iran, south-western Turkestan, Afghanistan, Baluchistan.
  

Ecology and behaviour

 

 

 

Pallas's Cat at the Zurich Zoo

Pallas's cats are solitary. Both males and females scent mark their territory. They spend the day in caves, rock crevices, or marmot burrows, and emerge in the late afternoon to begin hunting. They are not fast runners, and hunt primarily by ambush or stalking, using low vegetation and rocky terrain for cover. They feed largely on diurnally active prey species such as gerbils, pikas, voles and Chukar partridges, and sometimes catch young marmots.^[4]

 

YODA much.

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FU RO DAH !! ~~

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part time killer.. (blame the russian uploader)

http://youtu.be/TF7DgKzC_ao

That had to be the most anticlimactic cat video ever. Looks like an Alice in Wonderland creature.

Cool music though, but yeah, the video is as you stated. Plus snow.

Heheh, they're so physically hindered it's cute. The wild cat the size of a domestic cat, but with shorter claws and less dexterity. Poor little guys.

can we have a topic for Cryptowen's cats too?

It looks like a Koala Bear crossed with a cat.

  On 8/6/2012 at 6:18 PM, RadarJammer said:

That had to be the most anticlimactic cat video ever. Looks like an Alice in Wonderland creature.

lol

oh ma god it's so cute i luv it i luv ittttttttt

Also currently listening to some guys bandcamp page who has like experimental-punk-noise sounding stuff and it was a hilarious soundtrack to the video.

  On 8/6/2012 at 7:17 PM, Joyrex said:

It looks like a Koala Bear crossed with a cat.

Their faces are so distinct and cute - accurate Yoda comparison is.

Smug and/or pissy glances are pretty common with any cat species, the Pallas seems to have locked into a certain look of halfhearted disdain. I feel like their accusing everybody of something in every picture.

I wonder what the fur mass/flesh mass quotient is for these creatures? Whether it's the same for the cat versus the vole or whatever that was at the end of the vid. Ala perhaps the vole has to race back to luxuriate in the upper minus temps of it's snow tunnel, whereas our cat just keeps on hunting through whatever.