Pallas's Cat
Risks: Risks to Pallas's cats include habitat destruction and fragmentation due to conversion of grasslands for development, farmland and resource extraction.
Diet: Their diet primarily consists of small rodents including gerbils, voles, hamsters, pikas and small marmots. They will also eat small lizards and birds.
Height: 46 to 65 cm head to body length and tail length is 21 to 31 cm.
Weight: 2.5 to 4.5 kg
Fun Facts
- When Pallas’s cats are excited or scared, they make a sound much more like the yelp of a small dog than any typical cat sound.
- They have unusual pupils. Unlike other cats, the pupils of Pallas's cats contract into small circles rather than vertical slits. Pallas's cats have the longest and densest fur of any cat.
- The length and density of their fur also changes seasonally, growing longer and heavier in the winter.
Conservation Initiatives
The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo is proud to participate in Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) cooperatively managed Species Survival Plan® (SSP) Program for the Pallas's Cat. SSP Programs are led by expert advisors who cooperatively work together to maximize genetic diversity, appropriately manage the demographic distribution and long-term sustainability.