Animal
Pallas's cat
Pallas's cat is a small, very fluffy wild cat. It lives in cold, rocky grasslands and mountains in Asia. It has a flat face and little round ears.
Pallas's cat, or the manul, is a small wild cat of the cold, dry grasslands and mountains of Central Asia. Its long, thick fur makes it look bigger than it really is, and its flat face and low, round ears help it peek over rocks without being seen. It hunts pikas and other small animals.
Otocolobus manul is a small, stocky cat of the montane grasslands and shrub steppes of Central Asia, from Iran to Mongolia and the Tibetan Plateau. A habitat specialist that depends on rocky cover and marmot burrows and feeds mainly on pikas and rodents, it is Least Concern (IUCN, assessed 2019) but decreasing, with habitat fragmentation the main threat.
Photo: Editfmah Adrian Herridge, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Meet Pallas's cat
Pallas's cat is a small wild cat.
It has very long, thick fur, so it looks big and fluffy. Its face is flat and round, and its ears are small. It lives far away in the cold mountains of Asia.
Pallas's cat is a small wild cat, also called the manul. It weighs only about 2 to 5 kilograms, but its long, thick fur makes it look much bigger. Its legs are short and its body is stocky.
Its face is broad and flat, with small, rounded ears set low on the sides of its head. The IUCN Cat Specialist Group explains that this low head shape helps it hunt in open country where there is little cover. The naturalist Pallas first described it scientifically in 1776.
Otocolobus manul (GBIF's backbone lists it as Felis manul) is a small, stocky cat with short legs and very long, dense fur. Its fur is longest on the underparts, nearly twice as long as on the back and sides, which helps keep it warm on frozen ground (IUCN Cat Specialist Group).
The broad, flattened face carries small, rounded ears set low on the head, an adaptation for hunting in open country with little cover. The coat ranges from gray in the north to tawny or fox-red in parts of the south, with white hair tips that give a frosted look; the forehead has small black spots, the cheeks dark and white stripes, and the thick tail narrow black rings and a black tip.
Quick facts
- Group
- Mammal
- Length
- 46 to 65 cm
- Weight
- 2 to 5 kg
Where it lives
Pallas's cats live in Asia.
They live in cold, dry grasslands and on rocky hills and mountains. Winters there are very cold, but there is not much snow.
Pallas's cats live in Central Asia, from Iran across Kazakhstan, Mongolia and southern Russia to China and the Himalayas. The biggest populations are thought to be in Mongolia and China.
They live in cold, dry steppes, which are wide grasslands, and on rocky hills and mountains. They need places to hide, like rocks, gullies and old marmot burrows. Deep snow is a problem for them, so they avoid places where lots of snow stays on the ground. One was even recorded high in the Himalayas in Nepal, at 5,593 meters.
The IUCN's global assessment (assessed 2019, published 2020) describes a wide but fragmented range across the montane grasslands and shrub steppes of Central Asia, from western Iran to Mongolia, China and the Tibetan Plateau, with the core populations in Mongolia and China. It also lives along Russia's borders with Mongolia and China, in central and eastern Kazakhstan, and at low density in the eastern Himalaya of Bhutan, Nepal and India; the highest record is 5,593 meters in Nepal.
Pallas's cats live in an extreme continental climate with little rainfall and wide temperature swings. They rarely occur where snow over 10 centimeters persists, and continuous cover of 15 to 20 centimeters is thought to be their limit. They select rocky outcrops, ravines and talus that let them move unseen.
Continent
Its habitats
Where can you find this animal?
- Used to live here · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Used to live here · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Pallas's cats once lived in Armenia and Azerbaijan, where the IUCN lists them as possibly extinct; the last confirmed records there date from the 1920s (IUCN Cat Specialist Group).
Places: Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Cold, dry montane grasslands and shrub steppe from Iran to Mongolia, China and the Tibetan Plateau, with small numbers in the eastern Himalaya. Core populations are in Mongolia and China. Pallas's cats live in only part of each country shown; in Russia only along the borders with Mongolia and China. Possibly still in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Places: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and 4 more places.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Counts of GBIF records of wild observations (human and machine) and preserved specimens. Records include introduced populations, vagrants, escaped or released animals and misidentifications, so a country with records is not necessarily part of the native range.
Wild sightings have been recorded in Russia, Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Iran and 8 more places.
Source: gbif · checked October 2026
Range maps show where scientists say an animal lives, often country by country. An animal may live in only part of a country shown, and sightings records can include animals that wandered far from home.
What it eats
Pallas's cats eat small animals.
Their favorite food is the pika, a small, round, furry animal. They also catch mice, voles and birds.
Pallas's cats are carnivores. Their main food is pikas, small, round, furry animals that live in colonies on the steppe, plus gerbils, voles, hamsters and jerboas. Sometimes they catch birds, insects or young marmots. Most of their prey weighs only about 50 to 300 grams.
They hunt in three ways: creeping low behind rocks and grass, then pouncing; walking quickly through long grass to flush out small animals; or waiting patiently outside a burrow for an animal to come out.
Small to medium colonial mammals that do not hibernate make up most of the diet: mainly pikas (Ochotona) and small rodents such as gerbils, voles, hamsters and jerboas. Susliks, birds, grasshoppers, hares, young marmots and reptiles are taken occasionally, and carrion is eaten; prey typically weighs 50 to 300 grams (IUCN Cat Specialist Group).
Three hunting techniques have been described: stalking low behind cover, "moving and flushing" through long grass, and ambushing at burrow entrances. Because so much of the diet is pikas, the poisoning of pikas and rodents in parts of the range can deplete the cat's food and may poison the cats themselves.
Did you know?
When scared, a Pallas's cat stays very still instead of running.
Pallas's cats are not fast runners. When danger comes and there is nowhere to hide, they freeze and trust their camouflage.
Poor runners, Pallas's cats rely on camouflage and immobility when threatened away from shelter.
An amazing body
Pallas's cats have very thick fur.
The fur on their tummy is extra long, to keep them warm when they lie on cold ground. Their gray fur helps them hide among rocks.
Everything about a Pallas's cat helps it survive bitter cold and stay hidden. Its fur is long and thick, and the fur on its belly is nearly twice as long as on its back, keeping it warm when it lies on frozen ground or snow.
Its gray or reddish coat, with white tips on the hairs, blends into rocks and dry grass. Its low, round ears and flat face let it peer over a rock without showing much of its head. Its thick tail has thin black rings and a black tip.
The coat is the densest part of the story: underpart fur nearly twice the length of the dorsal fur insulates the cat against frozen ground, and white hair tips produce a frosted, silvery look. Coat color, markings and a seasonal molt provide camouflage against rock and steppe vegetation (IUCN Cat Specialist Group).
The low profile of the broad head, with small rounded ears set low, suits hunting in open country where cover is scarce. The legs carry indistinct black bands, and the thick tail, about half the body length, has several narrow black rings. Pallas's cats are not fast runners and cannot dig their own burrows, so they rely on cover and on burrows dug by other animals.
Growing up
Baby Pallas's cats are called kittens.
They are born in spring, in a den in the rocks or an old burrow. A mother can have lots of kittens at once. They grow up fast.
Pallas's cats have kittens only once a year. Most kittens are born in April or May, after a pregnancy of a little over two months. A litter usually has three or four kittens, but it can be as many as eight. They are born in a den, often an old marmot burrow or a crack in the rocks.
Kittens grow up fast. They leave their mother at only about four to five months old. Life is hard for them: scientists estimate that about two out of every three kittens in the wild do not survive to that age.
Breeding is highly seasonal and controlled by day length: females show raised estrogen for three to four months in late winter and early spring, and males peak just before. Most births fall in April and May after a gestation of 66 to 75 days; litters average three to four kittens and range from two to eight (IUCN Cat Specialist Group).
Dens, mostly marmot burrows and rock crevices, are used for giving birth and raising young. Juveniles disperse at about four to five months, and kitten mortality before dispersal is estimated at about 68 percent. Females can breed in their first season after dispersal, within a year of birth.
Hiding in plain sight
Pallas's cats live alone.
They are busy mostly at dawn and dusk. If danger comes, they do not run. They stay very still, so they are hard to see.
Pallas's cats are solitary and mostly active at dawn and dusk, though they can be out at any time. They rest in caves, rock crevices and old burrows dug by marmots, foxes or badgers.
They are not fast runners. Large birds of prey, wolves, foxes and herding dogs can catch them, so a Pallas's cat that feels threatened and has no shelter nearby stays perfectly still and trusts its camouflage. For such a small cat, its home range can be very large: over 100 square kilometers for some males.
Pallas's cats are solitary and mainly crepuscular. They depend on dens every day, for shelter from predators, feeding, mating, birth, raising young and keeping warm in winter (IUCN); dens are mostly marmot burrows and rock crevices, though in Iran old juniper tree cavities have been used for breeding.
Predation shapes their lives: large raptors, gray wolves, red foxes and herding dogs all kill Pallas's cats, which helps explain why they select habitat with hiding cover and occur at low density (IUCN). Home ranges are large for their size, from 5 to 30 square kilometers for three cats in Russia to over 100 square kilometers for some males, and male ranges in Mongolia were four to five times larger than female ranges.
Did you know?
A Pallas's cat's tummy fur is extra long, like a warm blanket.
The fur on a Pallas's cat's belly is nearly twice as long as the fur on its back, which keeps it warm on frozen ground.
Underpart fur is nearly twice the length of dorsal fur, insulating the cat when it lies on frozen ground or snow.
Helping Pallas's cats
Pallas's cats need wild grasslands with rocks and burrows.
People help by keeping these places wild, and by not harming the little animals the cats eat.
The IUCN lists Pallas's cat as Least Concern, but its numbers are going down. Its grasslands are being damaged by too many grazing farm animals, by plowing for crops, and by mines and roads.
It also loses food when people poison pikas and other small animals, and it loses shelter when marmots are overhunted. Some are caught in traps meant for other animals or hunted for their fur. Protecting large areas of steppe helps Pallas's cats and the animals they depend on.
The IUCN assessed Pallas's cat as Least Concern in November 2019 (published 2020), after listing it as Near Threatened from 2002 to 2016; the population trend is decreasing, and no monitoring yet allows reliable population estimates. The Cat Specialist Group reports an estimate of 49,000 to 98,000 animals in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Russia, based on range size and density.
Habitat disturbance and fragmentation, from overgrazing, conversion to cropland, mining and infrastructure, are considered the main threat. Pika and rodent poisoning depletes prey and can poison the cats; marmot overhunting removes dens; herding dogs kill them. The fur has long been hunted in Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan and Russia, and the CatSG also reports illegal trade, incidental trapping and climate change as concerns.
IUCN Red List
How is the pallas's cat doing in the wild?
- Least Concern (this animal)
- Near Threatened
- Vulnerable
- Endangered
- Critically Endangered
- Extinct in the Wild
- Extinct
Least Concern
Not at risk of disappearing from the wild right now.
Amazing facts
-
A Pallas's cat's tummy fur is extra long, like a warm blanket.
The fur on a Pallas's cat's belly is nearly twice as long as the fur on its back, which keeps it warm on frozen ground.
Underpart fur is nearly twice the length of dorsal fur, insulating the cat when it lies on frozen ground or snow.
-
Pallas's cats live in old burrows made by other animals.
Pallas's cats cannot dig their own burrows, so they move into old homes made by marmots, foxes or badgers.
Unable to dig, Pallas's cats depend daily on marmot burrows and rock crevices for shelter, birth dens and winter warmth.
-
One Pallas's cat was found very, very high on a mountain.
A Pallas's cat was recorded 5,593 meters high in the Himalayas of Nepal.
The highest record for the species, 5,593 meters, comes from the Nepal Himalaya (Werhahn and colleagues, 2018, cited by the IUCN).
-
When scared, a Pallas's cat stays very still instead of running.
Pallas's cats are not fast runners. When danger comes and there is nowhere to hide, they freeze and trust their camouflage.
Poor runners, Pallas's cats rely on camouflage and immobility when threatened away from shelter.
Words to know
- steppe
- a huge, dry, grassy plain with few trees
- pika
- a small, round, furry animal that lives in colonies in rocky or grassy places
- camouflage
- colors or patterns that help an animal blend into its surroundings
- den
- a hidden shelter where an animal rests or raises its young
- crepuscular
- most active at dawn and dusk
- carnivore
- an animal that eats other animals
Discovery challenge
-
What is a Pallas's cat's favorite food?
Which animal is the main food of Pallas's cats?
Which prey dominates the Pallas's cat's diet?
- Pikas
- Fish
- Fruit
Show the answer
Pikas
Pallas's cats love to eat pikas.
Pikas, small furry animals that live in colonies, are their main food, along with gerbils and voles.
Pikas and small colonial rodents make up most of the diet.
-
Why does a Pallas's cat look so big?
Why does a Pallas's cat look bigger than it really is?
What makes a Pallas's cat appear larger than its 2 to 5 kilogram body?
- It eats a lot
- Its fur is very long and thick
- It stands on its tiptoes
Show the answer
Its fur is very long and thick
Its fluffy fur makes it look big.
Its long, thick fur makes it look much bigger than it is.
Long, dense fur, especially on the underparts, exaggerates its apparent size.
-
What does a scared Pallas's cat do?
What does a Pallas's cat do when danger comes and there is nowhere to hide?
How does a Pallas's cat respond to a threat when no shelter is available?
- It runs very fast
- It stays perfectly still
- It climbs a tall tree
Show the answer
It stays perfectly still
It stays very still so nobody sees it.
It freezes and relies on its camouflage, because it is not a fast runner.
It remains motionless, relying on camouflage rather than flight.
-
Where do Pallas's cats live?
In what kind of place do Pallas's cats live?
Which habitat does Pallas's cat mainly occupy?
- Hot, wet rainforests
- Cold, rocky grasslands and mountains
- Sandy beaches
Show the answer
Cold, rocky grasslands and mountains
They live in cold, rocky places in Asia.
They live on cold, dry steppes and rocky hills and mountains in Central Asia.
Montane grassland and shrub steppe of Central Asia, selecting rocky cover.
Places where you might see it
-
Watch
Country
Mongolia
Mongolia is a large, landlocked country in Asia, between Russia and China. Most of it is a high plateau of grassy steppe, with mountains in the west and the Gobi in the south, and about 3.6 million people lived there in 2025.
-
Watch
Country
China
China is the largest country in Asia, almost as big as all of Europe. The land steps down from the high, cold Plateau of Tibet in the west to plains and coasts in the east, and about 1.4 billion people live there, along with giant pandas in the mountains of south-central China.
Explore next
-
Watch
Animal
Snow leopard
The snow leopard lives high in the mountains of Central Asia, where it is freezing cold and the ground is steep and rocky. Thick fur, huge furry paws and a tail almost as long as its body help it survive. It is so hard to spot that people call it the ghost cat of the mountains.
-
Watch
Animal
Sand cat
The sand cat is a small wild cat of the deserts of North Africa, Arabia and Central Asia. Its sandy coat hides it on the dunes, its big ears hear prey moving under the sand, and thick fur on the soles of its feet protects it from scorching days and freezing nights.
-
Watch
Country
Mongolia
Mongolia is a large, landlocked country in Asia, between Russia and China. Most of it is a high plateau of grassy steppe, with mountains in the west and the Gobi in the south, and about 3.6 million people lived there in 2025.
-
Watch
Country
China
China is the largest country in Asia, almost as big as all of Europe. The land steps down from the high, cold Plateau of Tibet in the west to plains and coasts in the east, and about 1.4 billion people live there, along with giant pandas in the mountains of south-central China.
-
Watch
Animal
Aardvark
The aardvark is a shy night digger of African savannas. It sniffs out ant and termite nests, rips them open with its spade-like claws and laps up the insects with a sticky tongue about 30 centimeters long. Its name means 'earth pig' in Afrikaans.
-
Watch
Animal
African buffalo
The African buffalo is a huge, cow-like grazer with heavy, curving horns. It lives in herds that can number in the thousands, and a herd will rush to protect a calf in danger. It lives across much of Africa south of the Sahara, from open savannas to rainforests.
-
Watch
Animal
African forest elephant
The African forest elephant is a separate species from the bigger bush elephant. It lives in the rainforests of central and western Africa, eats lots of fruit and spreads the seeds of forest trees in its dung. It is Critically Endangered.
-
Watch
3D
Animal
African wild dog
The African wild dog, or painted dog, has a patchy coat unlike any other dog's, big round ears and only four toes on its front feet. It lives in close packs that hunt together, share food and care for the pups. It is endangered: the IUCN estimated in 2025 that only about 1,676 adults are left in the wild.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Describe how Pallas's cat's fur, face and ears help it live in a cold, open landscape.
- Explain what Pallas's cats eat and how they hunt.
- Locate Pallas's cat's range in Central Asia.
- Discuss why protecting prey animals and burrows matters for a predator.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a cat with short legs choose to freeze instead of running from danger?
- How could poisoning pikas harm Pallas's cats, even if no one wants to hurt the cats?
- Why might a cat living on open grassland benefit from ears set low on its head?
Try at home or in class
- Lie a mitten fluffy-side down on a cold floor, then put your hand inside: feel how long fur keeps out the cold, like a Pallas's cat's belly fur.
- Crouch behind a chair and peek over it, first with your hands held up like tall ears, then without: which is easier to spot?
Key vocabulary: steppe, pika, camouflage, den, crepuscular, carnivore
Where these facts come from
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN terms of use (no redistribution of Red List data or range maps))
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF Occurrence Search , Global Biodiversity Information Facility (CC0 1.0 (backbone); occurrence counts are facts derived from records under CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC)
- Otocolobus manul, global Red List assessment (assessed 2019, published 2020) , IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) , IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file: Public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only (credited on each page))
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 27, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Picture credits
- Photo: Editfmah Adrian Herridge, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · source