Manul is a wild cat with the thickest and warmest fur in the world

Externally, the manulas resemble ordinary domestic cats of gray color, but incredibly fluffy and having slightly unusual ears. It is extremely rare to meet them in the wild: they live in remote mountain areas, and their numbers throughout the range are very low. It would seem that it is easier for small wild cats to find food, and for predators they are not so noticeable. Why, then, are so few manuls left?

Pallas are among those few representatives of the cat family that are found in our country. In Russia, Pallas are found mainly in mountainous regions, in steppe and semi-desert zones, rising to a height of 3,000-4,500 meters above sea level. At the same time, Pallas avoid forest plots and regions with high snow cover, which are extremely inconvenient for such small cats. In Russia, Pallas are found in the Republic of Altai, Tuva, Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory.

Manul habitat

Pallas are small in size and comparable in their parameters to domestic cats. With a body length of 50-65 centimeters, adults weigh from 2 to 5 kilograms, although from the outside it seems that they are much heavier.

The whole thing is unusually thick and long six, covering the body of the animal. Inhabiting areas with a sharply continental climate, Pallas have the most dense wool among all cats, and the length of hairs reaches 6-7 centimeters. According to biologists, for every square centimeter of the body surface of this wild cat there are 9,000 hairs. The color of this magnificent fur coat is gray with a splash of light and red shades, which is a wonderful disguise among the stones and steppe landscapes of the highlands.

But even with beautiful warm and camouflage fur, hunting and escaping from enemies, Pallas are not so widespread in the wild. And even in protected areas, where all conditions are created for the prosperity of the Pallas, the density of these cats is extremely low. Experts attribute this state of affairs to a number of factors, including the high mortality of kittens from toxoplasmosis (an infectious disease), the crowding out of a person from his traditional habitats that go under pasture, and poaching for manul for fur. The number of individuals of this species in our country, according to data from the beginning of the 2000s, was estimated at 3000-3,600 individuals. Of course, the manul is listed in the Red Book of Russia, and hunting for it is prohibited everywhere. Pallas tolerate captivity well and even breed, but only a few zoos have succeeded in breeding this species.

In the Daursky Biosphere Reserve, located on the border with Mongolia, the program "Preservation of the Pallas in the Transbaikalia" is being implemented, the purpose of which is to study these cats in more detail, their lifestyle and develop measures to protect them. It is necessary to start rescue manuls as soon as possible, because they are becoming less and less, and to date, scientists still know very little about these magnificent cats.