Pallas’s Cat

Context: First time, Pallas’s cat has been discovered on Mount Everest in the Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal.

About Pallas’s Cat:

• The Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul ), also known as the manul, is a small wild cat with long and dense light grey fur.
• Its rounded ears are set low on the sides of the head.
• It is well camouflaged and adapted to the cold continental climate in its native range, which receives little rainfall and experiences a wide range of temperatures.
• The Pallas’s cat has rounded rather than vertical slit pupils, a unique feature among small cats.
• It has been recorded across a large areal extent, albeit in widely spaced sites in the Caucasus, Iranian Plateau, Hindu Kush, parts of the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, Altai-Sayan region and South Siberian Mountains.
• It inhabits rocky montane grasslands and shrublands, where the snow cover is below 15–20 cm (6–8 in).
• It finds shelter in rock crevices and burrows, and preys foremost on lagomorphs and rodents.
• The female gives birth to between two and six kittens in spring.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • CITES: Appendix II

About Sagarmatha National Park

• Sagarmatha is an exceptional area with dramatic mountains, glaciers and deep valleys, dominated by Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world (8,848 m) in the Solu-Khumbu district of Nepal.
• The park is home to several rare species such as the snow leopard and the red panda.
• A well-known destination for mountain tourism SNP was gazetted in 1976 and with over 2,500 Sherpa people living within the park has combined nature and culture since its inception.
• The carefully preserved natural heritage and the dramatic beauty of the high, geologically young mountains and glaciers were recognized by UNESCO with the inscription of the park as a world heritage site in 1979.

Source Down To Earth

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) With reference to “Gucchi” sometimes mentioned in the news, consider the following statements:

1. It is a fungus.
2. It grows in some Himalayan forest areas.
3. It is commercially cultivated in the Himalayan foothills of north-eastern India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (2022)

1. 1 only
2. 3 only
3. 1 and 2
4. 2 and 3

Q.2) With reference to India’s biodiversity, Ceylon Frogmouth, Coppersmith Barbet, Gray Chinned Minivet and White-throated Redstart are  (2020)

1. Birds
2. Primates
3. Reptiles
4. Amphibians