8 facts about manuls that will change your idea of these cats

Manula's wildcats are cute, which you always want to cuddle. But knowledgeable people warn against familiarity in dealing with this predator. Of course, there are desperate heads who manage to keep manuls at home, but this is dangerous for both humans and animals. A person can suffer from paws and teeth, and an animal can die early due to a decrease in immunity. Let's figure out what else you need to know about manuals in order to perceive them correctly.

From the side, the manulas seem large and massive, but this is an illusion. On average, this wild animal weighs the same as a domestic cat. Usually, by the age of 8 months, manul gains only 5 kg, and kittens after birth weigh up to 100 grams at all. These cats look big because of their special fur.

The fur coat of the manul is very different from the usual feline. These are the furriest feline representatives on the planet! Otocolobus manul has up to 9 thousand hairs per 1 square centimeter of skin. They grow almost perpendicular to the skin and give the owner a solid volume.

Although manuls do not hibernate like bears, they diligently gain weight before winter. To increase the fat layer, the animals actively hunt for everything they can overcome in battle. Fat is vital for manul, because even a unique fur cannot protect them from severe frosts.

The manuls seem to be such a bumpkin on short legs and this is again because of their fur. In fact, they are very agile, strong and fast cats, born for continuous hunting. The only thing manuls have problems with is running in the snow. These predators are not well adapted for snowdrifts.

Manuls can be called vagrants, because they do not equip themselves with a permanent home. Otocolobus manul constantly roam in search of food, and the lair is equipped for a short time, for example, for breeding offspring. At the same time, the manuls do not build a shelter. They can comfortably settle right on bare rocks or capture burrows created by other animals.

Manuls have no enemies in their natural habitat. We can say that the only creature that poses a threat to these cats is a person. People not only destroy the natural habitat of manuls, but also are not averse to getting the beast itself. Previously, Otocolobus manul was often killed for fur. Now there is no excitement around cat fur coats and hats, but animals are caught for sale to exotic lovers. Sometimes manuls are poisoned in agricultural fields with pesticides.

Today, 150 manuls live in zoos around the world. Interestingly, all these animals are relatives whose ancestors were captured. In general, Soviet scientists made the most significant contribution to the study and breeding of manuls in captivity. It is not for nothing that manul is the symbol of the Russian Center for the Reproduction of Rare Animals. By the way, the famous manuls from the Novosibirsk Zoo were fed by a domestic cat.

As you have already understood, in Latin manuls are called Otocolobus manul. The famous German scientist Peter Pallas discovered these cats in the steppes near the Caspian Sea in 1782. Therefore, sometimes animals are called "Pallas's cat". But tactless zoologists also gave manul the Latin name Otocolobus manul, which means "ugly ear".