This wild cat, also called Pallas’ cat after the man who officially discovered it, is a creature of the brushy mountain slopes of continental Asia.  Found in Mongolia and China, Nepal and Tibet, Russia and Afghanistan, the Pallas’ cat is a secretive, solitary animal.  The manul is about the size of a domestic cat, but is much furrier.  It has a long, dense coat with a thick undercoat that comes in a range of shades from russet to gray, with white guard hairs.  The tail is ringed and tipped with black, and the animal has white circles around its eyes.  The eyes themselves are unusual, in that, unlike other cats’, the pupils are round instead of slitted.  The ears of the Pallas’ cat are set low and wide on its head, reducing its visibility in treeless brushlands.  All of these features make it an excellent ambush hunter in rocky and brushy terrain; insulated from the cold, it can wait for its prey or stalk it unseen.

Manuls prefer treeless habitats that are cold but not snowy, and which have rocky outcrops in which they can hide and hunt their prey.  They are poor runners, preferring to shelter in hiding places rather than flee from predators.  They yelp and growl rather than hiss and meow, but they can and do purr.  In captivity they are aggressive and unafraid of humans - though perhaps they should be, as human hunters in search of Pallas’ cat furs are one of their primary predators.  Although the international trade in Pallas’ cat pelts has declined due to restrictions prohibiting the taking of this species, illegal hunting persists.  Their fur is beautiful, luxurious and warm, and funding for enforcing the ban is inadequate.