This cute animal, very reminiscent of a long-haired domestic cat, lives in Central and Central Asia. He prefers to settle in forest-steppes and steppes, as well as in mountainous areas with bushes. The steppe cat is much less common in forests.
This animal is characterized by a fierce and somewhat displeased expression of the muzzle. Someone sees him sadly perplexed. In addition, it should be noted that manul is very poorly tamed. With a domestic cat, only appearance resembles him. Their characters and habits are completely different.
Appearance description
The steppe cat manul, whose photo on some sites in 2008 made a lot of noise, is a small animal weighing no more than 5 kg and a body length of about 65 cm. The wide and fluffy tail is not too long - no more than 30 cm. Paws are short and thick , “Armed” with sharp retracting claws.
Manul is a steppe cat with a memorable appearance. It looks like a pet familiar to us, but it has a very dense body and very thick fur of light gray color. This is the most furry representative of the cat family. On his back, every square centimeter has 9,000 hair. The length of the coat is 7 cm. Each hair has a white tip. This gives the luxurious fur a silver tint.
Color can be smoky-gray or fawn-red. On the tail are thin stripes of black color. The same stripes are on the face. The forehead of the Pallas is marked with dark specks.
The eyes of this animal deserve special attention - large, yellow. Unlike domestic cats, the steppe manul cat, whose photo you can see in our article, has round rather than vertical pupils. The animal has excellent hearing and vision, but can’t boast of a good sense of manul.
Varieties
To date, three subspecies of this steppe cat are known:
- Siberian or nominal. It lives in the northern part of the range. It has a gray color.
- Central Asian, who lives in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, in Northern Iran. It features red fur.
- Tibetan - with darker fur, black stripes on the tail and body and brighter spots on the head. It lives in northern India, northern Pakistan, in Tibet, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.
Lifestyle
Manul is the slowest wild steppe cat. He does not know how to run fast. This is a lonely cat. Each individual lives on its territory and instantly expels an alien from it. The steppe cat goes hunting at night or in the early morning, and in the afternoon it is poured in burrows or crevices. It feeds on rodents, but may well cope with a hare or ground squirrel. In the summer it eats insects.
Enemies of Pallas
It is quite difficult for a clumsy cat to defend itself from enemies. Its main enemies are owls, owls, wolves. Most often, he tries to run away from them, to hide. Jumping onto rocks or stones, the cat bares its sharp teeth, snorts. Often, manul falls into traps set on other animals.
Progeny
The mating season takes place in February-March. At this time, cats arrange violent fights over cats. Offspring appear annually. In a litter, as a rule, there are from two to six kittens. Cats do not take part in raising children. But mother cat takes care of her offspring very carefully - licks, feeds milk, warms with its heat. But if the cat is unhappy with the behavior of the kittens, she bites them. At three months old, the family goes hunting for the first time. In natural conditions, the steppe cat lives from 10 to 12 years.
Abundance and distribution
Unfortunately, the exact number of these animals is very difficult to establish, since the steppe cat is distributed mosaic and behaves very secretively. Everywhere, and in protected areas, including, manul is very rare, in many territories it is on the verge of extinction.
This type of steppe cat was listed in the Red Book of Russia, as well as in the IUCN list (replacing the international Red Book). In it, the manul received the status of "close to threatened."
The destruction of its habitats is especially dangerous for the Pallas. This may result from cattle grazing, poaching, mining. Often the dwellings of these animals are destroyed by hunting and shepherd dogs. Despite the strictest prohibitions, mittens and even fur coats from the fur of this rare animal are still sold .
Steppe cat caracal
Another great representative of the cat family is caracal. In nature, it is a predator belonging to the lynx family. Outwardly, they are very similar to their distant relatives. However, scientists have identified caracal in a separate form, due to some genetic characteristics.
Appearance
This steppe cat (the photo in our article will convince you of this) is very similar to a lynx. If it weren’t for more miniature size and plain color, it could easily be confused with a dangerous predator.
Caracal has a graceful body, 82 cm long, tail 30 cm. Height 45 cm. Weight can reach 19 kg. High-set triangular ears are crowned with fluffy tassels, which can be up to 5 cm long.
The coat is very thick, short. The color may be reddish brown on the back, the stomach is white, on the sides there are black marks.
Caracal in nature
This steppe cat is a predator. It is active at night. Very rarely leaves the hole in the daytime. Caracals are found in deserts, savannahs, in the foothills of Africa, Asia Minor, and the Arabian Peninsula. In addition, sometimes they can be found in the desert in southern Turkmenistan. Inhabits burrows and crevices of rocks.
Caracals hunt small birds and animals, which they run after very quickly. When a cat hunts, it can snatch several birds from a flying flock at once. Despite this dexterity, he prefers to hunt small rodents or reptiles.
Interesting Facts
Caracal can go without water for a long time, dispensing with liquid obtained from mining. With sharp fangs, he pierces the throat with his prey, and with “steel” jaws holds it. The molars and claws of a caracal are as sharp as blades.
In the wild, caracals (like leopards) drag their prey onto trees, hiding its other predators.
Fancy Pets
These predators, unlike manuls, are easily tamed, so lovers of the exotic seek to settle them at home. I must say that they succeed.
Tamed caracals are very affectionate and kind animals.
Content Features
It is advisable to purchase a caracal kitten at the age of 6 months. If your plans do not include professional breeding of these animals, then they must be neutered or sterilized immediately.
If your house has small children, then think carefully, acquiring such a cat. Do not forget that this is primarily a predator, so if you offend him, he can answer.
Caracals, like ordinary domestic cats, need to be vaccinated, monitor their health, and take care of their hair.
A large cat’s food should contain poultry, fish, beef, rabbit meat, and occasionally eggs. Pork is strictly prohibited - it can cause severe cat disease - Aujeszky's disease. From the diet of a steppe cat, salted or seasoned foods should be completely eliminated. Animals need to be given vitamins. Caracal can be fed with dry food, but of the highest quality.
At home, graceful caracals delight with their grace, and it’s also nice to realize that a “manual” predator lives in your house.