Otocolobus manul
The Dangers
Humans are one of the reasons of endangerment, they hunt the Pallas cats for their warm fur. Another reason the species is endangered is the poisonings of their food source the Pika. Pika are being poisoned by humans and once they are hunted by Pallas cats and ingested the toxins in the Pika also affect the wildcat. (bigcatrescure.org) Other threats include residential/commercial development, oil and coal mining, hunting for medicinal use, use of exotic pets, destruction of the environment, etc. (Ross, S., et al. Otocolobus manul. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016)
Getting Away
Pallas cats have a few ways of protecting themselves from predators or any type of danger.
​
One of these ways includes their fur. Although these cats are on the smaller side, their fluffy and large coat serves them in another way. The coat makes their appearance seem larger and ward off a predator or threat.
Their voice is another warning Pallas cats have. These cats are very vocal from almost birth, they give loud growls and hisses to alert the threat from coming close. Camouflage is very useful as they can blend into the mountain's nooks and crannies to hide and rest or while running they can lay low into the plains until it is safe to move.
Endangerment + Help
According to the ICUN redlist, the Pallas's cat species are considered to be at "least concern" status as of November 6, 2019. Their species is continuing to decrease but currently has a 58,000 adult population.
​
In order to help this species continue to thrive, there are a few options we can take part in. There are zoos that take in Pallas cats and help them if they are injured and rehabilitate them for release. The zoos also help the felines procreate both naturally and have successfully used AI (artificial insemination) to keep the species going. These institutions include: Parken Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo, Red River Zoo, and many more in Europe and Japan
​
Several organization also take donations in order to continue research on Pallas cat while fighting poachers and creating protected safe area for the species to live in. "The Pallas’s cat International Conservation Alliance (PICA) was established. PICA was formed in 2016 through a collaboration between Nordens Ark, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, and the Snow Leopard Trust with funding and support provided by Fondation Segre," (Pallas cat | Nordens Ark. )
