Significance of Protected Areas for the Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul: Felidae) conservation in Russia

Abstract

The Pallas's cat, or Manul, Otocolobus manul, belongs to the small felines. In Russia this species is located at the northern periphery of its range. Potential habitats of this species within its Russian range's part have been highlighted on the base of remote sensing data, topographic maps and digital cartographic models. Maps of the Pallas's cat's records in Russia have been compiled using literature data, authors' own data and information provided by contributors of the online database «Small Wild Сats of Eurasia». We have shown the representation of potential habitats of the Pallas's cat and its actual registrations within Protected Areas of Russia. The total area of potential habitats for this species in Russia is assessed as 145,150 km2. The presence of Manul is confirmed for five regions of Russia: Republic of Altai, Republic of Tyva, Republic of Buryatia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Trans-Baikal Krai. The registration of the species' records mainly corresponds to the location of its potential habitats. The main categories of both federal and regional Russian Protected Areas cover 10.8% (13.5% taken with the buffer zones) of the total area of potential habitats for the Pallas's cat. The significance of each Protected Area for Manul conservation has been considered in detail. We have discussed whether the representativeness of the existing Protected Areas is sufficient for conservation of this species. We have identified the main territorial gaps that reduce the Pallas's cat protection in some parts of the Russian range.

Keywords

• distribution
• online database
• Otocolobus manul
• Pallas's cat
• potential habitats
• Protected Areas
• territorial protection
• territorial protection gaps