When It Hits the Fan
by Mike Flynn
Title
When It Hits the Fan
Artist
Mike Flynn
Medium
Photograph - Photo Art
Description
Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul), also called the manul, is a small wild cat having a broad but patchy distribution in the grasslands and montane steppe of Central Asia. The species is negatively affected by habitat degradation, prey base decline, and hunting, and has therefore been classified as Near Threatened by IUCN since 2002.
Pallas�s cat was named after the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas, who first described the species in 1776 under the binomial Felis manul.
Pallas's cat is about the size of a domestic cat, with an 18-26 inch long body and an 8-12 inch long tail. It weighs 5.5 to 9.9 lb. The combination of its stocky posture and long, dense fur makes it appear stout and plushy. Its fur is ochre with dark vertical bars on the torso and forelegs. The winter coat is greyer and less patterned than the summer coat. There are clear black rings on the tail and dark spots on the forehead. The cheeks are white with narrow black stripes running from the corners of the eyes. The chin and throat are also white, merging into the greyish silky fur of the underparts. Concentric white and black rims around the eyes accentuate their rounded shape. The legs are proportionately shorter than those of other cats, the ears are set very low and wide apart, and it has unusually short claws. The face is shortened compared with other cats, giving it a flattened face. The shorter jaw has fewer teeth than is usual among felids, with the first pair of upper premolars being absent.
Pallas's cat is native to the steppe regions of Central Asia, at elevations up to 16,570 ft. They are found in the Transcaucasus and Transbaikal regions of Russia, and, less frequently, in the Altai, Tyva, and Buryatia Republics. They also inhabit Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Kashmir and across much of western China, especially in the Tibetan Plateau. In 1997, they were reported for the first time as being present in the eastern Sayan Mountains.
Populations in the Caspian Sea region, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, are declining, and increasingly isolated. In 2008, an individual was camera-trapped in Iran's Khojir National Park for the first time. In 2012, A Pallas's cat was caught on a camera trap in Wangchuck Centennial Park, in the Bhutan Himalayas, which was the first time this cat has been documented in this region.
Uploaded
December 24th, 2012
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