Pallas Cat of Central Asia

Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul), also called the manul, is a small wild cat having a broad but patchy distribution in the grasslands and montane steppe of Central Asia. The species is negatively impacted by habitat degradation, prey base decline, and hunting, and has therefore been classified as Near Threatened by IUCN since 2002.

Pallas's cat is native to the steppe regions of Central Asia, at elevations up to 5,050 metres (16,570 ft). 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. In 1997, they were reported for the first time as being present in the eastern Sayan Mountains.

Populations in the Caspian Sea region, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, are declining, and increasingly isolated. In 2008, an individual was camera-tra

pped in Iran's Khojir National Park for the first time.

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