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Rare Pallas’s Cat Revealed Across India’s High Himalaya
The Pallas’s cat is a small wild cat that looks like a very fluffy house cat.
It lives in some of the coldest and highest parts of Asia.
In India, it has been found in places such as Ladakh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.
Its thick fur, short legs and rounded ears help it survive the cold.
The cat hides well and usually lives alone, so people rarely see it.
Researchers have used camera traps and genetic testing to find evidence of it.
Some cats were photographed at heights close to 5,000 metres.
The animal eats rodents, birds, reptiles and other small animals.
Changes to its habitat and food supply could make survival harder.
Pallas’s cats are elusive wild felids living in cold, dry, high-altitude landscapes across India’s Trans-Himalaya.
The species was first reported in India’s Ladakh region in 1991, with later records from Sikkim and Uttarakhand.
Camera traps documented the cat in Himachal Pradesh in 2024 and Arunachal Pradesh at nearly 5,000 metres.
A 2026 genetic analysis confirmed the species in Ladakh’s Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary.
Habitat fragmentation, declining prey, livestock, mining, infrastructure, dogs and rodent-control practices may threaten the species.
- Who
- Researchers, wildlife agencies and the elusive Pallas’s cat, scientifically known as Otocolobus manul.
- What
- Researchers have documented the species’ presence at multiple high-altitude sites in India using observations, camera traps and genetic analysis.
- Where
- Across India’s high-altitude Trans-Himalaya, including Ladakh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.
- When
- Records date from 1991 through 2026, including camera-trap surveys conducted in 2024.
- Why
- The research is expanding knowledge of the species’ distribution and highlighting the importance of its cold, open habitat and prey.
Key facts
- Scientific name
- Otocolobus manul
- First Indian record
- Upper Indus Valley, Ladakh, reported in 1991
- Highest reported sighting
- Approximately 5,073 metres on the Tso Lhamo Plateau in North Sikkim
- Himachal Pradesh evidence
- Three independent camera-trap sites in Hangrang Valley, recorded in 2024
- Arunachal Pradesh evidence
- One camera-trap record at approximately 4,992 metres during a 2024 survey
- Latest Ladakh finding
- A 2026 genetic analysis confirmed the species in Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary
- Main diet
- Rodents and other small mammals, along with birds and reptiles
Sources
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