Maternal habitat use of Juniperus excelsa woodland by Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul in Iran

Abstract

Pallas’s cat is a rare felid that has a wide but patchy distribution across Eurasia’s cold steppes. The species is known to prefer rocky, mountain and shrub steppe habitats, and strongly selects habitats with good cover from sympatric predators, particularly when raising young. This is the first report of the species using Juniperus excelsa woodland habitat for foraging and breeding in Iran. We observed the use of two aged juniper tree cavities as breeding dens for a litter of four kittens. The record extends our capacity to assess the range of habitats that are used and suitable for Pallas’s cat populations.

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Maternal habitat use of Juniperus excelsa
woodland by Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul in Iran
Parham Dibadj, Behrouz Jafari, Farshad Nejat, Ali Turk Qashqaei & Steven
Ross
To cite this article: Parham Dibadj, Behrouz Jafari, Farshad Nejat, Ali Turk Qashqaei & Steven
Ross (2018) Maternal habitat use of Juniperus�excelsa woodland by Pallas’s cat Otocolobus�manul
in Iran, Zoology and Ecology, 28:4, 421-424, DOI: 10.1080/21658005.2018.1520722
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/21658005.2018.1520722
Published online: 17 Sep 2018.
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SHORT COMMUNICATION
Maternal habitat use of Juniperus excelsa woodland by Pallas’s cat Otocolobus
manul in Iran
Parham Dibadj
a
, Behrouz Jafari
b
, Farshad Nejat
c
, Ali Turk Qashqaei
a
and Steven Ross
d
a
Echo of Persia wildlife, Tehran, Iran;
b
Department of the Environment, North Khorasan Provincial Office, Bojnord, Iran;
c
Department of
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C. Evin, Tehran, Iran;
d
Office for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, Muscat, Oman
ABSTRACT
Pallas’s cat is a rare felid that has a wide but patchy distribution across Eurasia’s cold steppes.
The species is known to prefer rocky, mountain and shrub steppe habitats, and strongly
selects habitats with good cover from sympatric predators, particularly when raising young.
This is the first report of the species using Juniperus excelsa woodland habitat for foraging and
breeding in Iran. We observed the use of two aged juniper tree cavities as breeding dens for a
litter of four kittens. The record extends our capacity to assess the range of habitats that are
used and suitable for Pallas’s cat populations.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 11 September 2017
Accepted 5 September 2018
KEYWORDS
Breeding den; habitat use;
Iran; Manul; woodland
The Pallas’s cat or manul, Otocolobus manul Pallas,
1776 is a rare, small sized felid of 3–5 kg with a wide
distribution stretching from western Iran to eastern
Mongolia (Nowell and Jackson 1996). Across its range
it inhabits seasonally cold, arid steppe and semi-desert
ecosystems (Ross et al. 2015; Heptner and Sludskii
1992). There have been few comprehensive studies of
Pallas’s cat in the wild, restricting our ability to assess
and conserve the species, currently listed as Near
Threatened by the IUCN, and by CITES Appendix II
(Ross et al. 2015). Previous research has been limited
to ecological studies in Mongolia (Ross 2009;Rossetal.
2010a,2010b; Ross, Munktsog, and Harris 2012), and
Kazakhstan and Russia (Barashkova and Smelansky
2011;Barashkovaetal.2017,2017;Barashkovaand
Kirilyuk 2011; Kirilyuk and Barashkova 2011). As a result,
we do not have a full appreciation of the type of
habitat conditions that can support Pallas’s cat popula-
tions across its range.
Much of Pallas’s cat ecology and its habitat selection
patterns appear to be influenced by sympatric preda-
tion from raptors, terrestrial carnivores and domestic
dogs. For example, in Mongolia predation pressure is
believed to have resulted in strong selection of habi-
tats providing disruptive cover such as rocky terrain,
mountain slopes, ravines and shrub steppe, over more
open habitats with higher prey densities (Ross et al.
2010a,2010b,2012). They also sleep, rest and raise
their young in cavities where they are safe from larger
predators. As they are unable to dig, they depend on
burrows created by other animals such as the marmot
(Marmota spp.), and those provided by natural features
such as rock crevices (Heptner and Sludskii 1992). It has
been suggested that the availability of suitable cavities
may be a limiting factor on breeding success of the
species (Ross et al. 2010a).
In order to improve our ability to more fully under-
stand which habitat types may support Pallas’s cat,
further observations of resource use in other parts of
the species range are required. Here we present obser-
vational data on Pallas’s cat in Iran. The observations
took place in a habitat type not commonly associated
with Pallas’s cat. In addition, we present observational
data on den use and maternal behavior in this habitat
type. In Iran, Pallas’s cat is very rarely sighted and is
believed to have a very low population density. The
species is listed by the Department of the Environment
as a ‘Protected Species’(Farhadinia, Moqanaki, and
Adibi 2016; Karami, Ghadirian, and Faizolahi 2016;
Ziaie 2008). Most Pallas’s cat sighting records have
come from the northern mountain region of the coun-
try, but it has also been found in arid areas of south
and central Iran (Aghili et al. 2008; Chalani et al. 2008;
Farhadinia, Moqanaki, and Adibi 2016; Joolaee et al.
2014).
Our study took place in Shirin Dareh (Sweet Valley), in
North Khorasan Province, northeastern Iran (Figure 1).
The site is part of the Kopet-dag mountain range and
within the Arnaveh watershed. The climate of the area is
arid with an average annual precipitation of 350 mm
(200–500 mm), and average annual temperature ran-
ging of 14°C (8–39°C) (Farashi and Shariati Najafabadi
2015). Data collection took place over 15 days from the
25th of April to 9th of May 2014. On the 18th of April
2014, a local person reported a breeding den with four
closed-eyed kittens in a tree cavity. We followed the
CONTACT Ali Turk Qashqaei a.t.qashqaei@gmail.com Echo of Persia wildlife, Tehran, Iran
ZOOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
2018, VOL. 28, NO. 4, 421–424
https://doi.org/10.1080/21658005.2018.1520722
© 2018 Nature Research Centre
Published online 17 Sep 2018

report up and found the den site in a hollowed trunk of
an aged juniper tree Juniperus excelsa.
Four open-eyed Pallas’s cat kittens were in the den
(Figure 2), one female and three males. We immediately
fixed three small handmade infrared camera traps to
video record den activities 24 hours per day; one was
fixed inside the den, one facing the entrance, and one
monitoring the whole den site. The cameras were first
set on the 25th of April and then moved and placed in
the same manner at a second den site 610 m away on
the 2nd May, after the female and kittens moved there.
The 3 cameras were active for a total of 14 days. On
reviewing the video files, we documented all exit and
entry times and the suckling times of the kittens by the
adult female. Vegetation density in the area was char-
acterised using 20 × 20 m plots, 8 plots were in hillside
habitat and 8 in valley habitat.
The female and kittens occupied the first den for at
least 15 days and the second den site for 8 days. Both
breeding dens were in northwestern facing slopes and
within cavities of old juniper tree trunks (Table 1)and
both contained two entrances. Vegetation density at
the sites on hillsides was 50–75 trees and shrubs/ha,
the valleys below had higher tree and shrub density at
125–200/ha. Both dens were located on a slope of 15
to 20 degrees, with surrounding slopes of ≥45 degrees.
Habitats surrounding the den site, where the female
foraged during the day over the study period, con-
sisted of arid, undulating, alpine habitat at an altitude
of 1300–1520 m, with steep, rocky, calcareous slopes
and a network of steep v-shaped ravines bisecting the
landscape. The dominant vegetation in the area was
Juniperus excelsa woodland, with a spaced open struc-
ture on slopes and higher density, sometimes closed
canopy, in ravines and pans with higher water avail-
ability. The understory was covered by shrubs and
trees of species such as wild pear Pyrus sp. and maple
Figure 1. The study area in North Khorasan Province of Iran.
Figure 2. A photograph of one of four Pallas’s cat kittens
found inside a juniper trunk den.
422 P. DIBADJ ET AL.

Acer sp. Prey species available in the area included the
Afghan pika Ochotona rufescens, chukar partridge
Alectoris chukar and Caucasian agama Paralaudakia
caucasia. Potential predators/competitors of Pallas’s
cat in the area included the Persian leopard Panthera
pardus,redfoxVulpes vulpes,wolfCanis lupus and large
raptors and owls including Eagle Owl Bubo bubo,
golden eagle Aquila chrysaetus, and eastern imperial
eagle A. heliaca.
Our study has provided a novel record of Pallas’scat
using a woodland habitat for foraging and breeding,
although previously Farhadinia, Moqanaki, and Adibi
(2016) and Roberts (1977)reportedPallas’s cat occupied
stunted Juniperus spp. and Juniperus macropoda steppe
in Iran and Baluchistan Province of Pakistan, respec-
tively. The female had very consistent behavior during
the study period, exiting the den daily around sunrise,
between 5:02 and 5:39 am, and re-entering only once
during the day at sunset, between 6:59 and 7:44 pm.
Kitten grooming and suckling occurred immediately on
entering the den. Although Pallas’s cat does not strictly
require water, both den sites were within 100 m of
streams, and it may be that consumption of water
improves female fitness while lactating (Gittleman and
Thompson 1988). As marmots and other large burrow-
ing animalswere not found in the area, rock cavities and
juniper trunks were the only available denning habitat
in the area, the repeated use of juniper trunks for den-
ning suggests the suitability of the trunks for raising
kittens. While the observation extends our understand-
ing of the species niche, we would like to draw attention
to important similarities between juniper woodland
with other habitats utilized by the species. For example,
the juniper habitat hosted pikas Ochotona spp., which
due to its size and year-round availability, are consid-
ered the most important prey item of Pallas’scat
throughout its range. As Pallas’s cat is subject to preda-
tion by larger sympatric predators, which were present
in our study area, cover from predators is also a critical
resource for the species survival and particularly for
breeding (Ross 2009;Rossetal.2010a). The juniper
woodland habitat provided excellent disruptive cover
facilitating predator avoidance while foraging, and
offered tree trunk cavities for resting and breeding
habitat. In this respect the juniper woodlands provided
suitable resources that were comparable to those pro-
vided in rocky and shrub steppe habitats more com-
monly associated with the species (Heptner and Sludskii
1992;Ross2009).
Our study extends our understanding of habitat suit-
ability of Pallas’s cat, which is an important component of
landscape scale management and assessment for the
species conservation. Iran plays host to vast areas of
Juniper woodland, which have experienced a large
decrease in area in the past 100 years from approximately
3,400,000 ha to 1,100,000 ha (Zare 2001). The habitat is
under threat from overgrazing, firewood collection and
forest fires. Conservation of juniper woodland is
undoubtedly a regional priority, and management of
the habitat should also consider the structural resources
it provides such as deadwood, stumps and other cavities
that provide shelter and breeding habitat for Pallas’scats,
and most likely many other avian an terrestrial species.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the
authors.
ORCID
Ali Turk Qashqaei http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2537-5100
Steven Ross http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6534-7484
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First den 37°50’N, 57°07’E 1409 20 36 3
Second den 37°50’N, 57°08’E 1518 100 54 3
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