Steppe cat manul: photo and description

This cute animal, very reminiscent of a long-haired domestic cat, lives in Central and Central Asia. He prefers to settle in the forest-steppes and steppes, as well as in mountainous areas with thickets of bush. Much less often a steppe cat is found in the forests.

This animal is characterized by a fierce and somewhat dissatisfied expression of the muzzle. Someone sees him sadly perplexed. In addition, it should be noted that manul is very poorly tamed. With a domestic cat it is related only appearance. Their characters and habits are completely different.

Appearance description

Steppe cat manul, a photo of which on some sites in 2008 made a lot of noise - a small animal, weighing not more than 5 kg, and a body length of about 65 cm. The wide and fluffy tail is not too long - no more than 30 cm. The paws are short and thick , "Armed" with sharp retracting claws.

Manul is a steppe cat with a memorable appearance. It is similar to the usual pet for us, but it has a very dense body and very thick fur of light gray color. This is the most fluffy member of the genus of felines. On his back, every square centimeter counts 9000 hairs. The length of the hair is 7 cm. Each hairs has a white tip. This gives the luxurious fur a silver hue.

The color may be smoky gray or fawn-red. On the tail thin strips are black. The same strips are on the muzzle. The forehead of the malula is marked with dark speckles.

Special attention should be paid to the eyes of this animal - large, yellow. Unlike domestic cats, the steppe cat manul, whose photo you can see in our article, has round rather than vertical pupils. The animal possesses excellent hearing and vision, but a good smell manul can not boast.

Varieties

To date, there are three subspecies of this steppe cat:

• Siberian or nominal. It lives in the northern part of the range. It has a gray color.
• Central Asian, who lives in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, in northern Iran. It differs with red fur.
• Tibetan - with a darker fur, black stripes on the tail and trunk and more bright spots on the head. It lives in Northern India, Northern Pakistan, in Tibet, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan.

Lifestyle

Manul is the slowest wild steppe cat. He does not know how to run fast. This cat is a loner. Each individual lives on its territory and instantly expels the stranger from it. Steppe cat goes hunting at night or early morning, and in the daytime falls asleep in holes or crevices. It feeds on rodents, but it can also cope with a hare or a ground squirrel. In the summer it eats insects.

Enemies of Manul

It is rather difficult to defend oneself against the slow-moving cat. His main enemies are owls, owls, wolves. Most often he tries to escape from them, take cover. Zaprygivaya on rocks or stones, the cat bares sharp teeth, snorts. Often manul gets into traps set on other animals.

Offspring

The marriage period is in February-March. At this time, cats are fierce fights over cats. Offspring appears annually. In a litter, as a rule, there are from two to six kittens. Participation in the education of kids cats do not accept. But the mother cat cares for her offspring very carefully - licking, nourishing milk, warming her with warmth. But if the cat is unhappy with the behavior of the kittens, she bites them. In three months the family first goes on a hunt. In natural conditions, a steppe cat lives from 10 to 12 years.

Number and distribution

Unfortunately, the exact number of these animals is very difficult to establish, since the steppe cat is spread mosaically and behaves very secretively. Everywhere, and in protected areas including, manul is very rare, in many areas is on the verge of extinction.

This species of steppe cat was listed in the Red Book of Russia, as well as in the IUCN list (replacing the International Red Data Book). In it manul got the status of "close to threatened".

Especially dangerous for manul is the destruction of his habitats. This may be the result of grazing, poaching, mining. Often, the dwellings of these animals are destroyed by hunting and shepherd dogs. Despite the strictest prohibitions, mittens and even fur coats are still sold from this rare animal 's fur .

Stepan karakal

Another great representative of the cat family is the caracal. In nature it is a predator belonging to the lynx family. Outwardly they are very similar to their distant relatives. However, scientists isolated the caracal in a separate form, due to some genetic features.

Appearance

This steppe cat (the photo in our article will convince you of this) is very similar to the lynx. If not more miniature sizes and monophonic color, it could easily be confused with a dangerous predator.

Karakal has a graceful body, 82 cm long, tail 30 cm. Height 45 cm. Weight can reach 19 kg. Highly placed triangular ears are crowned with fluffy brushes, which can be up to 5 cm long.

The coat is very thick, short. The color can be reddish-brown on the back, the belly is white, on the sides there are black marks.

Caracal in nature

This steppe cat is a predator. It is active at night. Very rarely comes out of the hole during the day. Caracals are found in deserts, savannas, in the foothills of Africa, Asia Minor and Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula. In addition, sometimes they can be found in the desert in the south of Turkmenistan. It lives in holes and crevices of rocks.

Hunting caracals on small birds and animals, followed by running very quickly. When the cat hunts, it can snatch several birds from the flying up flight. Despite such dexterity, he prefers to hunt small rodents or reptiles.

Interesting Facts

Caracal can go without water for a long time, dispensing with the liquid obtained from the prey. With sharp fangs, he pierces his throat with his prey, and holds it with his "steel" jaws. Root teeth and claws of Karakal are sharp, like blades.

In the wild, Karakals (like leopards) drag their prey on trees, hiding its other predators.

Unusual pets

These predators, unlike manulov, are easily tamed, so lovers of exotics tend to settle them at home. I must say that they succeed.

Tamed caracals are very affectionate and kind animals.

Features of the content

It is advisable to get a karakal kitten at the age of 6 months. If your plans do not include the professional breeding of these animals, they should immediately be neutered or sterilized.

If your house has small children, then think carefully about buying such a kitty. Do not forget that first of all it is a predator, so if it offends, it can respond.

Caracals, like ordinary domestic cats, need to be vaccinated, monitor their health, take care of their hair.

Eating a large cat should contain poultry meat, fish, beef, rabbit meat, occasionally eggs. Categorically prohibited pork - it can cause a serious feline disease - Aujeszky's disease. From the diet of a steppe cat, it is necessary to completely exclude salted or spiced foods. Animals need to give vitamins. Caracal can be fed and dry food, but of the highest quality.

At home, graceful caracals admire their grace, and it's nice to realize that there is a "manual" predator in your house.