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Manul Kittens: How They Grow, Play, and Learn to Hunt

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Анастасия
A photograph of Vtora, Khan, Genghis, and Prima in Leningrad zoo

It all begins in May, in a crack in the rock or an old fox den lost among the hills of Tuva or the Mongolian steppes. A female manul gives birth to offspring (from two to six kittens). Each weighs less than 100 grams, and is only a little bigger than a matchbox, though already covered in thick down.

This is not the fluffy coat we are used to seeing in photos of adult manuls. Newborn manuls are gray, smoky, perfectly blending in with stone chips. Nature did not provide them with bright colors, because the mother has to leave to hunt, and the den must remain unnoticed by eagles and wolves.

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Why is the manul the most elusive predator? An article about ambush hunting tactics and camouflage among the rocks.

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A photograph of a Pallas's cat

The manul’s appearance is entirely subordinated to one main task: blending into the landscape. Its grayish-ochre coat with barely visible stripes perfectly mimics scattered stones and withered steppe grass, allowing manuls to remain unnoticed.

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