NEWS

December 10, 2011
Pallas’s cat was shooted by photo camera high in Altai mountains
Pallas’s cat was shooted by the photo camera on the Chikhachev’s Ridge (Altai Republic, Russia) on October 8, 2011. It occured on the mountain edge at the height of 3400 m above see level in the upper Kara-Oyuk valley.
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Aprel 18, 2011
Tyva Republic: young manul kitten was saved by humans
The Ubsunur Kotlovina National Reserve employees told us a story that happened last year. A young manul kitten was saved by humans.
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March 7, 2011
Tyva Republic: manul countings done!
Sibecocenter team just returned from the 3-week manul study expedition in the Tyva Republic.
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January 13, 2011
Zabaikalsky Krai: Doctor saves manul's life
A young manul came to a village looking for food, and got bitten by dogs. After a vicious fight the cat, its paw broken, crawled into one of the homesteads. The mistress woke up in the middle of the night because the dogs started barking. She found the cat next to the fence, barely breathing. Thanks to her kindness, patience, sense of duty and healing skills, the dying cat survived. Every day she spent hours taking care of the animal: gave the cat medications, tended and bandaged its wounds. After a while the cat got better: the appetite returned, the fur thickened, the animal started moving… and biting.
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January 3, 2011
How many manuls live in Zabaikalsky Krai?
This is the puzzle that the employees of Nature Reserve 'Daursky' will have to solve by the end of this winter. The first phase of building an estimate of the status of manul's population in Zabaikalsky steppes has come to an end this December. The research is supported by the United Nations Development Program and is part of a wider project conducted in the region due to the preparation of the next issue of the Red List. We need to confirm the existence of the serious threats, if there are any, towards the survival of manuls, and to organize the ways to monitor the species, which will allow checking on the well-being of the Pallas Cat in future.
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RECENT ARTICLES

Serum Concentrations of Lipids, Vitamin D Metabolites, Retinol, Retinyl Esters, Tocopherols and Selected Carotenoids in Twelve Captive Wild Felid Species at Four Zoos
Susan D. Crissey, Kimberly D. Ange, Krista L. Jacobsen, Kerri A. Slifka, Phyllis E. Bowen, Maria Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis, Craig B. Langman, William Sadler, Stephen Kahn and Ann Ward
..Serum concentrations of several nutrients were measured in 12 captive wild felid species including caracal (Felis caracal), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), cougar (Felis concolor), fishing cat (Felis viverrinus), leopard (Panthera pardus), lion (Panthera leo), ocelot (Felis pardalis), pallas cat (Felis manul), sand cat (Felis margarita), serval (Felis serval), snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and tiger (Panthera tigris). 137 kb
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On number and distribution of Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) in Altai Republic
A.N. Barashkova, I.E. Smelansky, A.A. Tomilenko, S.V. Naidenko, A.B. Dambain
..The number and distribution of Pallas' cat (Otocolobus manul) in Russia are less studied. The results of Pallas' cat investigation in the Kosh-Agach district of the Altai Republic are presented in the article. Pallas' cat was studied by the means of snow-tracking surveys in December 2006 and December 2009 and by the interviewing method. The density of Pallas' cat tracks in suitable biotopes was on average 2.02 tracks per 10 kilometers of the route. The number of Pallas' cats on the survey sites was on average 1.58 individuals per 10 sq.km (1.96 in the Sailughem ridge survey site and 1.15 in the Kurai ridge survey site respectively). A total number of Pallas' cats inhabited the Altai Republic was estimated as 650-680. The northern edge of Pallas' cat range in the Altai Republic is the Kurai intermountain depression. The single findings to the north from it (in the Chuia and Inegen' valleys) are probably rarely remote comings. The main threat for Pallas' cat is killing by the herders' dogs. Sometimes Pallas' cats were trapped in the traps for other animals and were poached. The educational work with the local people is a decisive measure for Pallas's cat conservation. It's necessary to create and enlarge the protected areas in the key habitats of Pallas's cats in the Altai Republic, firstly in the Sailughem ridge.(full text is available in Russian) 420 kb
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Dietary composition, plasticity, and prey selection of Pallas’s cats
Steven Ross, Bariushaa Munkhtsog, Stephen Harris
..Dietary plasticity and diet composition of Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul) was quantified in central Mongolia. Diet of Pallas’s cat was assessed by scat analyses, and prey surveys were used to estimate prey availability. Prey selection was calculated using multinomial likelihood ratio tests. Analysis of 146 scats identified 249 prey items. Pallas’s cats ate a broad range of small mammals, insects, birds, reptiles, and carrion, but Daurian pikas (Ochotona dauurica) were the most frequently consumed prey. Multinomial likelihood ratio tests indicated nonrandom selection of prey species. Pikas were selected disproportionately to their availability, and other more numerous prey items were used less than expected, indicating feeding specialization. 207 kb
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The effect of environmental enrichment on the activity level of a captive male Pallas' cat (Felis (Otocolobus) manul), 2010
Alekseicheva I. А.
ANNOTATION
In captivity Pallas' cats usually lead a mostly sedentary lifestyle, which negatively affects their physical health. The use of feeding enrichment and changing exhibit design to achieve a more complex environment structure increases the level of physical activity and stimulates playing and exploring behavior. We can conclude that Pallas' cat's well-being was increased (full text is available in Russian). 48 kb
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