A team of scientists has found traces of two Pallas cats living on Mount Everest, more than 5000 meters above sea level. A first.
The height doesn’t scare them. For the first time, two Pallas cats (or manules) have taken up residence on Mount Everest, more than 5000 meters above sea level. According to scientists, they would more precisely reside in the Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal.
If these two felines have not actually been seen, scientists have discovered their presence thanks to the genetic analysis of the traces they left behind. In 2019, a team of scientists took excrement samples. “Scientists found evidence of pika and mountain weasel DNA in the samples, an important food source for Pallas’s cat“, the press release details.
These finds complete the list of known mammals in Sagarmatha National Park, a much-visited and protected World Heritage Site. This team of researchers had already published part of their findings in the journal Science in September 2022 and made this announcement official on January 26.
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Richness of biodiversity
“Finding evidence of this rare and remarkable species at the top of the world is phenomenalDr. Tracie Seimon of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Zoological Health Program said in a news release from the nonprofit. “The discovery of Pallas’s cat on Everest sheds light on the rich biodiversity of this remote high mountain ecosystem and extends the known range of this species to eastern Nepalcontinued Dr. Tracy Simon.
Conservation biologist and Pallas’ cat enthusiast Paige Byerly also raved about the discovery on Twitter:The idea of a Pallas cat taunting elite climbers from behind a rock really warms my heart“.
Rare and endangered species
These small wild cats, descendants of the leopard, have a wide range in Asia: from the Caucasus to Mongolia via China. They have a somewhat flat head and have very small rounded ears, set rather low on each side of the head. Their spotted fur is long and thick, which allows them to fight the cold in winter. An essential quality for living on the “Roof of the World”. Manuler can live in areas where the temperature drops to -50°C.
Pallas’ cats have the special ability to live”in rocky areas, rocks“, explains Florian Kirchner, who is responsible for the IUCN’s “Arts” programme. Although a few individuals have been found in the Himalayas, it is not common to see Pallas’ cats on Everest. “They are used to living at altitude, between 500and 1000 meters, he continues. But it is still a surprise to see them in such an extreme area where they find a small prey.
Pikas, marmots and weasels are the main food source for Pallas’ cats. But these prey gradually disappear, leaving “not much to eat“because of a”habitat degradation“. The latter is increasingly transformed into “arable land for livestock or human and industrial infrastructure», becomes a real threat to the species.
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The situation of the Pallas cat was assessed in 2019 and classified into categories “less worry” “which means there is no risk of extinction in the coming decades», explains the expert. However, “its numbers are feared to be declining as it faces various threats from human activities“. IUCN researchers would count only 50,000 or 60,000 of these cats in the world, that is, less than the number of giraffes, for example. With an average density of four cats per 100 km², this cat remains relatively unknown to scientists.
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