NEWS

April 23, 2013
Manul Week at the Moscow Zoo - everyone's welcome to the festival!
From 23 to 28 April the Moscow Zoo is hosting the Manul Week festival. The goal the organizers have set for the festival is to raise awareness among the zoo's visitors about manul - an endangered species of Russian fauna and symbol of the Moscow Zoo, as well as other steppe animals and the importance of conservation measures.
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February 20, 2013
Pallas Cat program design contest
Pallas Cat study and conservation programme announces a contest for the program website design. A competition winner, whose design will be chosen as the new one for the program website, will receive a memorable gift and an opportunity to see Pallas cat and learn more about their life.
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December 19, 2012
Ladakh: case of Pallas’s cat kittens met in in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India
The kittens near the den were observed on 2nd August, 2010.
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October 17, 2012
Bhutan: Pallas’s cat was shooted by photo camera high in Himalaya mountains
Camera traps have captured the first-ever live pictorial evidence of Pallas’ Cat in the northern-central part of the Wangchuck Centennial Park (WCP) in Bumthang.
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July 1, 2012
Program news: results of field work in Aktobe Province of Kazakhstan
The expedition to Kazakhstan was conducted from 6 May till 6 June in order to survey Pallas' cat distribution. The main study sites were the cliffs of Northern Ustyrt Plateau and Mughojary Mnts. which are situated in Aktobe Province of Kazakhstan Republic.
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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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