The project "Clarifying Pallas' Cat conservation status in Kazakhstan" was supported by the Rufford Small Grants Foundation.

There is no trustworthy data on the current Pallas' cat number and distribution in Kazakhstan. Despite the fact that the manul is well-spread in Kazahstan, its status is a concern. The current state of the species is unclear; it has been a long time since professional research and assessment was done; there are evidence of the habitat shrinking. It is possible that the population of the Pallas' Cat is diminishing, too.

At some point this species could be found as far to the west as the Caspian Sea and as far to the east as Markakol Lake, as far to the north as the Kazakhstan low hills and as far to the south as the the boundaries of the country. However, through the last decades, the number and habitat of Pallas' Cat has apparently changed dramatically. Manul cannot be found in the central part of the former habitat anymore. Now, it lives only in the narrow belt of the south and east shore of Caspian Sea, and on the east of the region.

What is in fact happening with the manul here nobody knows. The local Red List data on Pallas' Cat are largely outdated. As there are no research or assessment being done at the moment, the only way to find out something about manul is to ask people who work in the region and can possess (as a rule, by chance) some data about the species.

Pallas' Cat species is recognized as rare and endangered but there is no precise information about its current status (Nowell, Jackson, 1996).

The project is directed to obtain up-to-date information on conservation status of Pallas' Cat population in Kazakhstan and to promote activities for its protection.

See in more detail