Pallas's cat
Amazing fact
Pallas's cats sometimes reach into prey burrows with a paw to try to scoop animals out.
Smithsonian National Zoo
No sign-up needed. You can save notes on this device.
An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Pallas's cats sometimes reach into prey burrows with a paw to try to scoop animals out.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Pallas's cat
- Scientific name
- Otocolobus manul
- Japanese name
- マヌルネコ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Felidae
- Genus
- Otocolobus
It inhabits montane grasslands and steppes in Central Asia.
It has short legs, dense fur, and round pupils.
How the Pallas's cat lives
They hunt at dawn, dusk and during the night. They ambush prey instead of chasing it. They spend the day in places such as rocky crevices and caves.
Smithsonian National ZooBasic data
- Active
- At dawn and dusk
- Diet
- Pikas
- Range
- Central Asia, from eastern Mongolia to western Iran
Where the Pallas's cat has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- マヌルネコ
- 简体中文
- 兔狲
- 繁體中文
- 兔猻
- 한국어
- 마눌
- Español
- Manul
- Français
- Chat manul
- Deutsch
- Manul
- Português (Brasil)
- Felis manul
- Italiano
- Manul
- العربية
- سنور مغولي
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Kucing Pallas
- Tiếng Việt
- Mèo manul
- Русский
- Манул
- Türkçe
- Pallas kedisi
- ไทย
- แมวพัลลัส
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- Pallas’s Cat International Conservation Alliance — Species informationChecked: 2026-11-03
- Smithsonian National Zoo — Pallas's catChecked: 2026-11-05
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Pallas's cat, look for this
- Look for the round ears set low on the head.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
Smithsonian National ZooEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Pallas's cat
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Hokkaido
Kanto
- Nasu Animal Kingdom
- 埼玉県こども動物自然公園
- Ueno Zoological Gardens公式発表でメス2頭は非展示(2026-08-18更新)。展示中の個体は来園前に要確認
- 横浜市立野毛山動物園リニューアル工事に伴う休園が予定されている(公式2026-10-19告知)。休園中もマヌルネコは園内に残る予定
Chubu
Kinki
- ごかつら池どうぶつパーク寝室と自由に行き来する展示のため展示場にいないことがある(公式)
- Kobe Animal Kingdom
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Felidae
MORE TO MEET
