The Pallas’s cat or manul Otocolobus manul is a small felid of the leopard cat lineage inhabiting the Asian steppes from the Himalayas to the southern rim of the boreal forest. In spite of its vast distribution range, the Pallas’s cat has received little attention from the scientific and conservation community, and hence information is scarce and often only available for small fractions of its range. The Pallas’s cat is listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but robust information on the status and trend of the population are lacking from most of its distribution range. The gaps in knowledge of the species restrict the development of effective conservation actions and the establishment of targeted conservation plans. Thus, the Pallas’s Cat International Conservation Alliance PICA and the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group Cat SG have joined up with the Pallas’s cat Working Group PCWG and experts from all Pallas’s cat range countries to produce this comprehensive Status Review summarising available information on Otocolobus manul, but also identifying important gaps of knowledge, priority research topics, and conservation priorities, and consequently the first Conservation Strategy. This Status Review and the developed Conservation Strategy will assist a more rigorous planning for the species’ conservation according to IUCN standards.

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Though widely distributed across the cold arid steppe and semi-desert ecosystems of Central and Western Asia, the manul is uncommon and rarely seen. The habitat in which it lives is demanding and highly seasonal; the manul exhibits morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations that meet the challenges of temperature extremes, variable food resources and the risk of predation from other carnivores. This chapter describes the ecology of the manul, drawing from field studies and what we have learned from the captive zoo population. We end the chapter by asking how can the manuls ecology aid our understanding of its conservation biology?

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A significant portion of the manul’s Otocolobus manul global range is situated in the Central Asian countries Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, and several adjacent provinces of Russia. We estimated the manul current Extent of Occurrence EOO in the region at 1,225,313 km², which is about 84% of the predicted area of suitability calculated from the MaxEnt distribution model. Based on a conservative assessment of manul population density (4–8 cats/100 km²), we roughly estimated the regional population size at 49,000–98,000 manuls. Mongolia holds almost 60% of the estimated potential area of suitability in the region and over 50% of the estimated regional population. Kazakhstan and Russia both have relatively abundant manul populations while in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan the manul presence remains questionable. Killing by herding dogs, wildfires, and rodents poisoning are at present the main threats to the manul in this region. Manul is listed in the Red Data Books of Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Hunting ban or regulation, respectively, and protected areas are currently the main conservation instruments for the species. Protected areas cover approximately 15% of the manul habitats in Mongolia, 12% in Russia, 7% in Kazakhstan, and 6% in Kyrgyzstan. We recognise a lack of knowledge regarding manul ecology and biology in the region, its geographical distribution, and a lack of correct assessment of its population size. These gaps should be filled to raise conservation efficiency. Conservation efforts should include securing manul and its habitats in key areas, minimising dog attacks and poaching, and establishing a broad, long-term monitoring.

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Supporting Online Material

The present report covers Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, forming the south-west part of the Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul distribution range. The Pallas’s cat has been rarely studied in these countries, and the current knowledge of the species in this region is limited. Our review estimates that the Pallas’s cat’s current Extent of Occurrence EOO in the region is 1,371,783 km² (or 723,296 km² when expressed as the sum of country-based convex polygons). While climatically suitable areas seem to exist for the Pallas’s cat at many sites (1,155,654 km² in total, or 42.8% of the regional Extent of Occurrence), confirmed contemporary (≥ year 2000) records (n = 98) are limited to few areas and geographically biased towards Iran (75.5%). Consequently, the current Area of Occupancy AOO for the species appears sparse (3,925 km²) and highly fragmented. In particular, we found no confirmed contemporary records of the Pallas’s cat in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, and from outside the Hindu Kush-Hindu Raj mountain ranges in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the apparent trends in geographic distribution may not be significant given the lack or increase of recent detection efforts compared to the past. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Afghan pika Ochotona rufescens is an important prey species for the Pallas’s cat in this region, and availability of this prey species in climatically suitable areas could constitute a biological predictor of the Pallas’s cat occurrence. Pallas’s cat populations in the range countries are likely to be threatened to various extents by incidental killing by pastoralists and their dogs, habitat fragmentation and depletion of main prey species. We did not find any evidence of active harvest or specific persecution of Pallas’s cats in the study region, and the possible effects of climate change on the species ecology remain unknown. Significantly more research is needed to evaluate and understand the impact of potential threats on Pallas’s cat distribution, abundance and population trends in its south-western distributional limit.

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Supporting Online Material

Table T1 and T2 and Figure F1

In this article, we used published and grey literature and expert observations to review the distribution and conservation status of the Near Threatened Pallas’s cat or manul Otocolobus manul in Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal. The species appears widespread in China; however, distribution in the Himalayas is patchy and not clearly understood. Recent sightings and camera trap records from north Sikkim in India and Bhutan extend the species range to the east of the Himalayas and suggest a wider distribution than previously thought. Nevertheless, the population size and trend in the region remain unknown. The Pallas’s cat is likely to be threatened by habitat degradation and fragmentation from traditional pastoralism, unregulated tourism, infrastructural developments such as roads and petrochemical industry, and also by poaching (including their prey). Climate change is also an emerging threat to the species although the potential impacts remain uncertain. Moreover, the species remains one of the lesser known wild cats, and in-place research and monitoring are highly lacking. There is a strong need for active conservation actions and dedicated studies on their presence and distribution followed by a more detailed investigation of their ecology and the impact of ongoing anthropogenic activities.

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Pallas’s cats Otocolobus manul have an extensive range across Central Asia, covering 16 countries, from Iran in the west to China in the east. The global population is listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened. However, there is a wide variety with national conservation statuses, with some countries listing the species as Extinct (e.g. Armenia & Azerbaijan), others as Endangered (e.g. China and Turkmenistan) and some as Near Threatened (e.g. Pakistan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan). For regions (e.g. Mongolia & China) where historical data on the level of utilisation and trade is known, it was considered high (e.g. early 1900’s in Mongolia offtake estimated at 50,000 skins) but for other regions the level is unknown (e.g. Bhutan, Nepal, India). Data indicates skins of Pallas’s cats have been traded the most. Other used items derived from Pallas’s cats include fats, oils, meat and organs. We lack data to estimate the extent of domestic versus international trade. 37 conservation and research projects were documented to date, but the species seems not to be included in any national action or management plan. From a conservation perspective the inclusion of Pallas’s cat into such plans could be a key element in the long-term conservation of the species.

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Supporting Online Material

Throughout history the primary objective of ex-situ facilities i.e. zoological collections (zoos and aquariums) has evolved, moving away from simple exotic attractions and more toward specialised centres of education, research and conservation. In 1946 the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria WAZA was formed, albeit under its former name the International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens IUDZG. WAZA has since acted as the "umbrella" organisation for the world zoo and aquarium community and has been instrumental in the global development and contribution of zoos towards conservation. This is highlighted by the WAZA vision "A world where all zoos and aquariums maximise their conservation impact" (Barongi et al. 2015). With over 300 WAZA member institutions and 700 million annual visitors it is clear to see the vast reach zoological collections have and the enormous potential for zoological institutions to become conservation leaders. Through a dedicated focus and global collaboration zoos continue to play a vital role in the primary elements of ex-situ conservation, these being; education, research, capacity building, in-situ support and ex-situ population management. This is highlighted by the annual financial contribution of zoos toward conservation of over $350 million.

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Habitat degradation and fragmentation, largely caused by increasing livestock numbers, conversion of steppe to arable land, infrastructure development, and resource extraction, are generally considered the main threats to Pallas’s cats Otocolobus manul across its range. In addition, predation by domestic dogs, accidental capture when hunting/trapping other animals, decreasing prey numbers and poisoning can seriously impact local populations. We expect the impact of climate change and disease to increase in the near future, but the potential extent and severity of these threats are currently poorly understood and vary considerably between countries and regions. Even though our understanding of the basic ecology and distribution of Pallas’s cat has increased during the last decade, a clearer scientific understanding is required to support the species conservation. Additional ecological research is critical, but our inability to efficiently monitor the species across its vast range and reliably detect population trends and distributional changes is arguably the most important gap in our understanding.

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Pathogens may be important factors affecting population dynamics of different wild mammalian species. There are several examples of different pathogens leading to a decrease in number or even extinction of different populations of mammals in the wild. These have been epizootics caused mutated canine distemper virus CDV in the Serengeti in 1994, and feline leukemia virus in Doñana National Park (Spain). Sometimes also very unusual pathogens may result in the death of animals. For example, Eurasian lynxes in a Netherlands zoo succumbed to the Bluetongue virus, and the lethality of CDV to bears has been previously described. Knowledge of potential threats and risks for animal species, including infectious/invasive pathogens, may has critical value for their conservation.

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The Pallas‘s cat or manul Otocolobus manul is a characteristic species of the lowland and mountain steppes of south-western and Central Asia’s and the Himalayas. Because of its specific habitat requirements and its dependence of a variety of small mammalian prey, this archaic cat is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem. For thousands of years, it has shared its living space with nomadic herders. Only when motorised transport and heavy equipment became available in the 20^th century, man has started to alter these marginal, low productive habitats considerably. We know very little about the long-term and large-scale changes in the distribution and abundance of the Pallas’s cat, but we can assume that increasing human pressure on the steppe habitats and its fauna have impacted the small cat’s population in recent decades and that further development may have an increasingly negative effect if not sensibly mitigated.

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Appendix I