OF ARID CREATURES
You can't possibly know "bright eyed and bushy tailed" until you see the stunningly beautiful and supremely fluffy Pallas cat. These wild cats live in the arid steppes of Central Asia and Iran, and in West China. They also inhabit deserts and rocky mountains. They can be found at elevations of up to 13,000 feet where they hunt rodents, pika and birds.
They have thick fur which protects them from the cold weather and the frozen ground. They are also very stocky, giving them a stuffed-toy like appearance. They have the longest and thickest coat of any cat species.
Pallas cats exhibit denning behavior for protection and to raise their young. They will either use caves or crevices, or will use a burrow made by other mammals. They tend to live at very high elevations. They were once thought to be nocturnal, but are now known to be crepuscular (active at twilight). They will catch prey either by "fishing" down a rodent burrow or ambushing them as they come out.
The Pallas cat was once hunted for its fur, although the practice has been outlawed in China. They are hunted when they are considered a threat to livestock, although some consider them beneficial because they control the rodent population. The other threat to the Pallas cat is poisoning of rodents, which contaminates their food source. They are listed with CITES under appendix 2 as endangered. There are about 117 worldwide.
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Comments
Never heard of them -but gee, so pretty. And slightly different from the others. Thanks -I'll watch out for info about them!
117!! -- and that only warrants an "endangered"?
Amazing looking cat! Its funny -- i never think of "cats" as much more than domestic cats and lion/tigres/jaguars... its been fascinating for me to see some of the other species from this family.
RD, I had never heard of them either until last month. And trust me, if it was an okay thing to do I'd want to take one home too - but they're better off on the steppes . Plus just think of how cold your house would have to be!! LOL ;)
No kidding, Steve, who decides these things? I can tell you though, they're not listed on IUCN so maybe they're data deficient in some way. Also I think that they base it on recoverability. Of course I have no evidence to back up either statement I just made ;) You'll learn lots about small cats here, they're a favorite of mine.
;) Thank you. Although I've read Gide I first heard the saying quoted by the Lama Surya Das.
***Tsk*** How did I miss your comment?
Copper is a perfect 'script of them! I can't stop looking at this beauty, personally. ;)