Pallas. Pallas.

The eyes are yellow, the pupils are in bright light, in contrast to domestic cat-eye pupils do not get slit shape, and stay round. On the cheeks - bundles of elongated hair (tanks). The tail is long and thick, with rounded tip The appearance of Pallas The appearance of Pallas Pallas' cat - an animal the size of a domestic cat: the length of its body cm, tail cm, it weighs 2-5 kg Pallas' cat - an animal the size of a domestic cat: the length of its body cm, tail cm, it weighs 2-5 kg. From normal cats, he has a more dense, massive body with short thick legs and a very thick hair (one square inch has 9000 hairs, which can reach lengths of 7 cm [2] His head Pallas' small, broad and flattened, with small rounded ears, which are widely separated.

Pallas is the fur from thick and fluffy felines of. Colour of fur is a combination of light gray and pale ocher colors have white tips of the hairs, causing the impression that the fur manul snowing. On the back of the torso and tail are narrow dark transverse stripes on the sides of the muzzle from the corners of the eyes are vertical black stripes. The tip of the tail is black. The underparts are brown with white bloom. The peculiar appearance of Pallas served as the basis for the hypothesis that the wild cat is related to the Persian cats that look like a fluffy coat, rounded and rather unusual for the other breeds form the head.

Lifestyle and nutrition. For Pallas' habitat is characterized by extreme continental climate with low temperatures and low winter snow cover, and is most abundant in the little snow, he areas. Pallas sedentary. Active mostly at dusk and early morning, daytime sleeping in the shelter. Lair of the suits in the crevices of rocks, small caves, under stones, in old burrows of marmots, foxes and badgers. Pallas has exceptional color camouflage properties, which help him in the hunt. By itself, Pallas' cat - the most sluggish and clumsy from the wild cats. It feeds almost exclusively manul pikas and rodents, and occasionally catch squirrels, rabbits, tola, surchat and birds. In summer, during the depression of pikas, Pallas' cat eats a large number of Orthoptera and other insects. Catching prey, concealing it, or the guard at the rocks and holes.

The status of the species and conservation. Everywhere, not excluding the protected areas, manul rare or extremely rare, and its population continues to decline. Mostly it is on the verge of extinction. The exact number is unknown because of the type of secretive behavior, and Pallas' patchiness of its distribution. According to experts the number of Pallas in 1989 and 1991 was estimated: in the Altai region of individuals, in Buryatia individuals, in the Chita region individuals. The maximum density of animals in specific habitats was adults osobi/10 km ². Typical habitats manul (steppe, rocky, outliers), relatively little affected by human impact, the greatest impact on its numbers have poaching for their fur, loose housing of dogs, the massive use of loops and snares to catch hares and foxes. Along with the influence of anthropogenic factors, the deterioration of food supply due to reduction in the number of marmots and other rodents. Many animals, especially the young, destroy the wolves, and owls, early high mortality from infectious diseases. An important limiting factor is also a long snowy winters, and ice. Pallas is in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, the IUCN Red List status "Near Threatened" and in Appendix II of CITES (1995). Hunting for a manul universally banned.