It is time for the letter M, and one lovely chubby creature called Manul .featured on this amazing stamp sheet from Tajikistan, issued on 28th June 1996.
The manul, also known as the Pallas's cat, is a small wild cat with a broad but fragmented distribution in the grasslands and montane steppes of Central Asia. It is negatively affected by habitat degradation, prey base decline and hunting, and has therefore been classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2002.
It cat was first described in 1776 by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas, hence the name.
Also the Pallas' glass lizard, Pallas' viper, Pallas's long-tongued bat, Pallas's tube-nosed bat, Pallas's squirrel, Pallas's leaf warbler, Pallas's cormorant, Pallas's fish-eagle, Pallas's gull, Pallas's sandgrouse, Pallas's rosefinch, and Pallas's grasshopper warbler were first described by him, as can be seen in their names.
I don't think the manul is meowing as regular cats. but for another m-related to this, the Macedonian word for a cat is machka (мачка), so there we go :)
Check out the rest of the M's here
Meow!! .
Oh, it's the first time I've read about this cat!
ReplyDeleteI’d never heard about this cat before. Thanks for the education. Very unique looking feline!
ReplyDeleteI am not a cat lover but can only admire this splendid cat sheet.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am a cat lover and am so pleased to learn about this one!
ReplyDeleteAnd I like the sound of machka (may save that one for my new cat)
What a chubby cat but judging by that glorious mountain scenery it may need lots of fat and fur. Very decorative mini sheet
ReplyDelete