A Manul, otherwise known as Pallas's Cat. Were-feline?
Took me a bit. It's the eyes.
Meridae sent me http://cheezburger.com/8152177664
Had to go find more of these so...
http://www.arkinspace.com/2011/04/manul-cat-that-time-forgot.html
Have you ever wanted to take a trip through time to see what animals looked like millions of years ago? When it comes to cats there is little or no need. This beautiful specimen is a Manul, otherwise known as Pallas’s Cat. About twelve million years ago it was one of the first two modern cats to evolve and it hasn’t changed since. The other species, Martelli’s Cat, is extinct so what you are looking at here is a unique window in to the past of modern cats.
Take a close look at the eyes of the Manul. Do you see a difference between it and the domestic cat? That’s right, the pupils of the Manul are round, not slit-like. Proportionally too, the legs are smaller than cats we know and they can’t run anywhere near as quickly. As for the ears, well, when you actually can catch sight of them they are very low and much further apart than you would see in a domestic cat.
The Manul is a solitary creature and individuals do not tend to meet purposefully when it is outside the breeding season and will avoid the company of others of its kind where possible. When it is threatened it raises and quivers the upper lip, Elvis like, revealing a large canine tooth.
When breeding does happen the male has to get in quickly as oestrus usually only lasts just under two days. It usually births up to six kittens, very rarely a single one, and it is believed that the size of its litters reflect the high rate of mortality the infant cats can expect. Yet they are expected to be able to hunt at sixteen weeks and are very much on their own and independent by six months. Although their life expectancy in the wild is unknown in captivity they have lived to over eleven years.
Don’t rush to your local pet store, however. The Manul does not domesticate and even if it did they are incredibly hard to breed in captivity with many kittens dying. This is thought to be because in the wild, due to its isolation, the cat’s immune system did not have a need to develop and so when they come in contact with us and other species, this under-developed immune system lets them down.
Meridae sent me http://cheezburger.com/8152177664
Had to go find more of these so...
http://www.arkinspace.com/2011/04/manul-cat-that-time-forgot.html
Have you ever wanted to take a trip through time to see what animals looked like millions of years ago? When it comes to cats there is little or no need. This beautiful specimen is a Manul, otherwise known as Pallas’s Cat. About twelve million years ago it was one of the first two modern cats to evolve and it hasn’t changed since. The other species, Martelli’s Cat, is extinct so what you are looking at here is a unique window in to the past of modern cats.
Take a close look at the eyes of the Manul. Do you see a difference between it and the domestic cat? That’s right, the pupils of the Manul are round, not slit-like. Proportionally too, the legs are smaller than cats we know and they can’t run anywhere near as quickly. As for the ears, well, when you actually can catch sight of them they are very low and much further apart than you would see in a domestic cat.
The Manul is a solitary creature and individuals do not tend to meet purposefully when it is outside the breeding season and will avoid the company of others of its kind where possible. When it is threatened it raises and quivers the upper lip, Elvis like, revealing a large canine tooth.
When breeding does happen the male has to get in quickly as oestrus usually only lasts just under two days. It usually births up to six kittens, very rarely a single one, and it is believed that the size of its litters reflect the high rate of mortality the infant cats can expect. Yet they are expected to be able to hunt at sixteen weeks and are very much on their own and independent by six months. Although their life expectancy in the wild is unknown in captivity they have lived to over eleven years.
Don’t rush to your local pet store, however. The Manul does not domesticate and even if it did they are incredibly hard to breed in captivity with many kittens dying. This is thought to be because in the wild, due to its isolation, the cat’s immune system did not have a need to develop and so when they come in contact with us and other species, this under-developed immune system lets them down.