Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul), also known as manul, is a small wild cat native to the Caucasus, Iranian Plateau, Hindu Kush, parts of the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau to the Altai-Sayan region and South Siberian Mountains.

The Pallas's cat has light grey fur with pale yellowish or reddish tones, which becomes greyer and denser in winter, making its markings less visible. Its forehead is light grey with black spots, and it has distinctive black zigzag cheek lines. The chin, lips, and whiskers are white, while the lower back has five to seven dark stripes. Its rounded ears are low-set, grey with a yellowish tint and dark rim, and have whitish inner hair. The eyes are yellowish with white rings around them, and the pupils become small, round disks in sunlight.

Its size is about the size of a domestic cat. Its head-to-body is 46-65 cm (18-26 in) long with a 21-31 cm (8.3-12.2 in) long tail. It weighs 2.5 to 4.5 kg (5 lb 8 oz - 9 lb 15 oz). It has a sturdy body and a rounded head with a short nose, a big upper skull, and curved cheekbones. Its eye sockets are large and face forward. The legs are short, and the claws are small, sharp, and can be pulled back.

They're solitary. They're highly specialized in hunting small mammals, which it catches by stalking or ambushing near exits of burrows. It also pulls out rodents with its paws from shallow burrows. They use caves, rock crevices and marmot burrows as shelter.

It was classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2020. Yet, some population units are threatened by poaching, prey base decline due to rodent control programs, and habitat fragmentation as a result of mining and infrastructure projects.


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