Manul

Facts

IUCN NEAR THREATENED (NT)

Facts about this animal

The manul or Pallas' cat is a small cat with a broad head and low set ears. The head-body length is 50-65 cm and it weights 2.5-4.5 kg. The tail is 21-31 cm in length and rather thick, with a broad black terminal tuft, preceded by five or six narrow black rings. The coat is extremely thick, dense, and soft, with abundant dark underwool. These characteristics are indicative of adaptations to the cold.

The colour varies from light grey to yellowish buff and russet. The white tips of the hair produce a frosted appearance. No spinal band exists, but there are some faint black stripes on the sides. The fur on the underside is dark and longer than above. There is no marked sexual dimorphism.

Did you know?
that the vernacular name used in English, Pallas' Cat, came from the first scientist to describe the species, the German zoologost Peter Simon Pallas (1741-1811)? In 1767 Pallas was invited by Catherine II of Russia to became a professor at the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences, and between 1769 and 1774 he led an expedition to Siberia collecting natural history specimens on their behalf. He explored the upper Amur, the Caspian Sea, and the Ural and Altai mountains, reaching as far eastward as Lake Baikal.

Factsheet
Class	MAMMALIA
Order	CARNIVORA
Suborder	FISSIPEDIA
Family	FELIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Otocolobus manul
Name (English)	Manul
Name (French)	Chat manul
Name (German)	Manul
Name (Spanish)	Gato manul, Gato de Pallas
CITES Status	Appendix II
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Vladimír Motyčka

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Central Asia
Habitat	Steppes, deserts, rocky plateaus and treeless rocky mountainsides
Wild population	Russia: 2000-2200 (Tyva) and 2100-3000 (Chita), respectively. The populations of Altai: 450-550 and Buryatia:250-350 individuals (2007) ( Red List IUCN 2011)
Zoo population	180 registered by the International studbook, of which 162 reported to ISIS (2006)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

Transport crates should be sufficiently large to meet legal requirements and sufficiently strong to prevent escape or damage to the crate and animal. Basic design should allow free flow of air through multiple sides of the container. Preferably, a double door design at least on one end of the crate should be used. The "inner" door should have bars or wire mesh to contain the animal, and the "outer" door should consist of a thin panel of expanded metal or plywood that provides safety for the handlers and isolation for the animal. The doors should travel vertically to facilitate animal transfer and contain a secure locking system. The crate should drain well, and absorbent bedding should be used to prevent the animal from being exposed to or lying in urine or excreta.

The shipment should be organised in a way to minimise stress. The animal should have access to its transport crate for 2 weeks before shipment, preferably being fed within it. If an extended trip is anticipated, water and food as may be required should be provided while the animal is in transit.

For air transport, Container Note 82 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Winkelbohrer

Why do zoos keep this animal

Although the manul is rated only as "Near Threatened", an International Studbook was set up in 1997 under the WAZA umbrella, and zoos maintain now a largely self-sustained population managed under regional conservation breeding programmes by AZA and EAZA.

As not much is known about wild Pallas' cats, the zoo population forms the basis of research projects which will increase our knowledge about this rare species. Research in the United States established that Pallas’ cats have a pronounced reproductive seasonality controlled by light exposure and that newborns are extremely susceptible to Toxoplasmosis, a protozoan infection.

Zoos also supported field studies in Mongolia to measure range sizes of wild Pallas’ cats by radiotelemetry, which are important with a view of introducing effective conservation measures.

How this animal should be kept

Minimum space requirements: An outdoor enclosure of at least 30 m² per pair, or a female with offspring if kept separate, should be provided. Covered enclosures should be at least 2.5 m high. In addiiton, a dry and frost free shelter must be provided. At least one den in the form of a wooden box (50x50x30cm), or hollow log, preferably two or more should be provided.

Outdoor enclosures should be well drained. They should have natural soil with a grass cover or a layer of sand or marly limestone, or concrete or epoxy covered with sand or soil planted in places with grass or low bushes. Enclosures must not be empty but suitably furnished to meet the Pallas cats' needs such as the following: Visual barriers to enable the cats to hide from one another, e.g. rises/dips in the ground, logs, rocks, plantings, but these should not allow one cat to corner another, there should always be an escape route. Rock cavities, or similar structures for hiding and resting. Trees for scratching and shade. Elevated structures, such as rocks or boards, for sitting on and overlooking a view. Plants that smell strong and/or attract insects add interest. There must be several resting places providing some protection from inclement weather.

The diet must be as varied as possible including freshly killed small fully-feathered birds (day-old chicks, pigeons) and small mammals (rats, mice guinea pigs), and meat with mineral and vitamine supplement.

Pallas' cats may be kept together as a pair, only to be separated when the female is giving birth and while raising small kittens. Kittens should be separated from their mother between 5-7 months of age. Pallas' cats enjoy the same toys as house cats, like small plastic balls or boxes for fishing out food or small toys.