It is easy to mistake the Pallas’s cat for an unusually fluffy domestic cat that has wandered far beyond the neighbourhood. Its round face, low-set ears, short legs and perpetually unimpressed expression make it look almost cartoonish. 

But the animal known scientifically as Otocolobus manul is very much a wild cat, one built for some of the harshest landscapes in Asia.

In India, finding one is an altogether different story.

The Pallas’s cat is among the country’s least-known small felids, living largely out of sight across the high-altitude Trans-Himalaya. Unlike the snow leopard, which has become an emblem of Himalayan conservation, the Pallas’s cat rarely announces its presence. 

It is small, solitary, remarkably well camouflaged and naturally occurs at low densities, making even camera-trap photographs valuable pieces of evidence.

Where India’s Pallas’s cat has been spotted 

The species was first reported from India in Ladakh, with records from the upper Indus Valley dating back to 1991. 

Since then, scattered observations have gradually established its presence across parts of the Indian Himalaya. Ladakh remains one of the best-known strongholds, with records from landscapes including Changthang and areas around Hanle. Sightings have also emerged from Sikkim and Uttarakhand.

Then came a series of discoveries that began filling in some of the blanks on the map.

In September 2007, a solitary Pallas’s cat was observed on the Tso Lhamo Plateau in North Sikkim at about 5,073 metres above sea level — the first confirmed record of the species in the state.

In Uttarakhand, researchers working in the Nelang Valley of Gangotri National Park recorded the animal at........

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