First-Ever Photographic Evidence of Pallas’s Cat Recorded in Arunachal Pradesh

A recent survey conducted by WWF-India in 2024, with support from the Forest Department, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, and guidance from local communities, has recorded the first-ever photographic evidence of the elusive Pallas’s cat in Arunachal Pradesh. The work was part of WWF-India’s project “Reviving Trans-Himalayan Rangelands – A Community-led Vision for People and Nature.”

Significance of the Record

• The finding is highly significant, as the Pallas’s cat is one of the least studied wild feline species in the world.
• It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, yet remains elusive and rarely photographed.
• Its documentation in Arunachal Pradesh extends the known distribution of the species further east in the Himalayas, adding to earlier confirmed records from Sikkim, Bhutan, and eastern Nepal.

About Pallas’s Cat (Manul)

• Native to Central Asia, also known as Manul.
• A cold-adapted wild cat with short legs, which sometimes hinder its ability to chase prey.
• Known for its unusual yelping call, similar to that of a small dog.
• Considered one of the oldest living cat species, having diverged about 5.2 million years ago from a leopard ancestor.

(Source: WWF-India)