Scientific Name
Octocolobus manul
Octocolobus manul
Range
Mongolia and the Tibetan Plateau of central Asia
Mongolia and the Tibetan Plateau of central Asia
Conservation Status
Near threatened
Near threatened
Looks Can Be Deceiving
Pallas’s cats have the longest and densest fur of any cat. The hair on their bellies and tails are twice are long as on their back and sides. This makes them appear much larger than they actually are. An adult Pallas’s cat is about the same size as a domestic cat.
Grumpy Face
People have observed that the face of the Pallas’s cat looks grumpy or upset. Unfortunately, that is what every Pallas’s cat face looks like. This observation has occurred since it was first seen and named. In fact, the Pallas cat’s scientific genus, Otocolobus, means ‘disfigured or ugly-eared.’
To learn more, download the Pallas’s Cat fact sheet.
Image courtesy of Frontier Photography by Kevin Rangel