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Meet the Pallas's cat, a wild feline that doesn’t meow

With its stubby legs, stout body, and grumpy face, the Pallas’s cat looks to some like a displeased, overstuffed house cat. In truth, the fluffy feline—also called the manul—is about the same size as its distantly related domestic cousin. It’s also perfectly adapted to the demands of its environment: the arid steppes, rocky mountains, and deserts of Central Asia. And every trait, from its coat patterning to its thick layer of fat, helps the animal survive the harsh climate, find food, and evade predators.

Pallas’s cat

Otocolobus manul

RANGE: Snowy mountains and steppes of Central Asia
SIZE: Up to 11 pounds and 2 ft. long, with an 8-to-10-inch-long tail
ENDANGERED STATUS: Least Concern

A Pallas’s cat, turned to camera, walking against a blue sky

FUR
Incredibly dense, with 9,000 hairs per sq. cm., insulating the cat against winter temperatures as low as -58°F
EYES
Yellow, round, and higher than other cats’; their pupils are circles, not slits, which may enhance vision in dim or low light
EARS
Small and set low on the sides of the head; they inspire half of the animals’ Latin name, Otocolobus, from the Greek words for “ear” and “cut short”
LEGS
Short and stumpy, keeping the cat low to the ground and enabling it to sneak up on, rather than run after, prey
TAIL
Long enough to wrap around the body like a scarf for warmth; acts as a seat that protects the cat’s paws from the cold ground

Three Pallas’s cats camouflaged in rocky terrain

Pallas’s cats are masters of disguise.

Can you spot the 3 Pallas’s cats?

With hunting ranges that span many miles, Pallas’s cats sometimes need to travel through large open areas to find prey. To hide from predators like the steppe eagle on these journeys, they simply lie flat and still, a posture that makes them look like a gray rock.

MEOW YOU’RE TALKING

You might expect Pallas’s cats to meow, but they primarily communicate with honks, growls, yelps, chirps, and purrs.

ON THE HUNT

This carnivore can eat up to five rodents a day, helping to control local populations of pikas, voles, and mice—animals they typically hunt by ambush, waiting for prey to appear outside of their burrow entrances.