Rare Pallas cat is saved in village in TransBaikal

They're native to this part of Siberia, but not often seen. Famous for their adorable, fluffy looks with rounded faces, they're genuine wildcats. This one was young, perhaps born this year, and for whatever reason seemed unable to fend for itself properly in the wild. 

After being rescued at Sherlovaya Gora village, the cat was sent for rehabilitation to Daursky Nature Reserve, which nudges the Russian border with Mongolia. 

Animal expert from the reserve, Vadim Kirilyuk, said: 'This is a young and very skinny cat. Most likely, it was born too late. Unfortunately, in nature later broods are doomed. Young males, when just learning to hunt, do not manage to gain the necessary weight. 

'The weight of this cat is just 1.910 kilos. The fact that the Pallas cat appeared in a human habitation only confirms that it did not know how to hunt effectively or there was not enough food in the wild. Pallas cats depend on rodents in the area.'

He explained: 'If they don't learn how to hunt effectively, many die in the winter.' Now it is being cared for, the cat began to gain weight. It catches passerine birds as well as mice and voles. 

Known also by the name manul, a name which has Mongolian origin, the wildcat appears bigger and heavier than it truly is: its hair keep it warm in cold climate but also gives the illusion of stocky frame and a larger size than it really has. They have longer and denser fur than any cat, and underneath are the same size as domestic cats.