Wildlife Instincts: Pallas's Cat - Master of the Plains | Free Documentary Nature

The great

plains

of Mongolia are home to an amazing feline, the palace cat, who have adapted to all seasons in this treeless desert and, despite the challenges, use their young to feed themselves and others. his growing family with remarkable ingenuity. It takes a very special type of cat to thrive. here eastern mongolia a continuous expanse of rolling grasslands and semi-desert here there are no trees, instead the landscape is dotted with domestic herds for centuries the locals have followed their sheep and goats as they graze living in gathered houses called gers these people are nomadic and travel with their animals in search of good quality pasture.

There are also wild herds of Mongolian gazelles here. Their seasonal migrations cover a distance of more than a thousand kilometers above them. The eagles saw golden eagles and step eagles while golden eagles remain in Mongolia all year round. Passage eagles migrate. here in the spring to breed hunt the animals that live in these grasslands like these Mongolian gerbils, Brandt's voles and Dorian ground squirrels. There are more than 30 species of small mammals living on the

plains

, rich profits for a grassland predator like the palace cat. November winter in Mongolia, where temperatures frequently drop to -30 degrees Celsius, is a stronghold for palace cats in Eastern Mongolia and nomads have reported several sightings.

There is something moving in the snowy field. A fox. red foxes taking advantage of a break in the blizzard must hunt even on the coldest days. Palace cats travel within a radius of one hundred square kilometers, but biologist otkombaya batagal or augie is an expert when it comes to finding palace cats. Auggie and the crew have chosen this rock field to begin their winter search. Palace cats often hide among rocks or in cavities in the ground. Holes dug by foxes or marmots provide ideal resting places. It is often 10 degrees warmer than outside. Footprints in the snow suggest they are in the right area.

If they were hunting here, they must still be. new footprints nearby located deep in a cavity a palace cat with a ferocious look auggie carefully takes it out to check it this is a fully developed adult it is aggressive just as a wild cat should be at 48 centimeters from nose to butt it is similar in size to domestic cat but it is more robust with a thick layer of fat very quickly which makes it simply flattened and remains motionless with the hind and front paw stretched out and the chin on the snow in an open plane there is nowhere to hide while crouching and yet it is the most effective form of protection the palace cat may be ferocious but it has enemies eagles are its biggest threat but even foxes would hunt a palace cat if they had the chance but the cat has a clever strategy to hiding an eagle passing overhead would never know that this cat is not a rock, while most cats have triangular ears on the top of their heads, the position of the palace cat's flat ears allows them to blend in like a smooth rock.

It is the best representation of stealth. His eyes are another special feature. The eyes of a palace cat are relatively set. high on a small forehead, allowing them to see better as the snow accumulates around them. Once the palace cat decides to turn into a rock, it may not move for a long time after a while, and when it is deemed safe, it begins to crawl slowly and low. when spring comes on the plains of Mongolia the snow melts but the grass remains yellow it will not rain here until the end of summer in July the ground is dry and dusty the temperature reaches almost 40 degrees Celsius since the middle of winter the temperature has risen 70 degrees Lady cranes have migrated across the Himalayas from India and Nepal to breed here.

They gather around the now scarce puddles of water to avoid overheating. Golden eagles must protect their chicks from the sun, but Mongolian gazelles do not have the luxury of shade. They must continue. their journey and some will not make it, the research team has been following the palace cats using radio telemetry and they picked up a signal even in the distance, the antenna on the collar gives it away after having lost almost half of its weight since winter. It now has a distinctly different shape, the dense layers of fur and blubber are gone, allowing it to survive the extreme heat of summer, but it still uses the same slow stalking movements it used in winter, staying low to the ground to avoid detection. .

The team continues their search for palace cats and makes an exciting discovery. Among the rocks there are four kittens. Palace kittens are usually born in late spring and raised in the rock fields of the Mongolian plains. The rocks provide much-needed shade and keep them hidden. of the predators there are more kittens in nearby dens each litter has between three and five they seem to know that they must stay still and silent but at least there is no worry of being discovered by the eagles here the day is long during a Mongolian summer the sun does not set puts on until 9 p.m.

The team decides to stay and observe the rocks for signs of life. This kitten is about two months old as the evening air cools more kittens emerge cautiously staying close to the rocks at first then becoming a little more adventurous once. They are used to their environment They cannot remain silent for long This is the kitten's time to play They are already showing wild cat behavioral traits The tip of this kitten's tail is waving with excitement It is something that cat stories do palace adults when they target their prey his brother, however, is an irresistible draw as the light fades.

The kittens get tired, but hours later they are awake again. Their mother has returned giving them a welcome meal. They will nurse for three or four months in total. At the end of summer they will be weaned. From their regular observations, the team has been able to gather valuable information about the growth pattern of the kittens at one month of age. They can leave the den to explore their surroundings, watched by their attentive mother. She is in the middle of the mold with her short summer coat coming through. growls sensing a potential threat won't risk it reacts by carrying a kitten back to the den in mid-July a transformation is beginning to take place on the planes the long-awaited rains have arrived and day by day the grass is turning greener and the flowers are blue For the nomadic people of Mongolia that spread across the plains, summer is a time to gather and socialize.

This is the Nadam festival. Children race horses for 20 kilometers. Horses are a way of life here, so it is It is appropriate that they play an important role in the festival. It is the greatest honor to win with a horse that your family has raised. The vols are making the most of the season's growth. They come out of holes in the ground and scurry around looking for danger, but they are never far from a ray Small mammals are always on the lookout and for good reason, palace cats are ready to take advantage of a hunting opportunity and the crew is on hand to capture the action first.

An adult female that moves carefully in search of prey, but has company with a kitten in tow. Ignoring her kitten, she moves forward completely focused on her prize, she seems to have seen something in the distance, she adopts the familiar low stance as she approaches her target, the vole is now just a few meters away from her and she still has the element of surprise success. With kittens to feed and hunting herself is an endless task so the team captures something extraordinary a bransvol the cat notices it and notices her this time there is no element of surprise but she shakes the tip of her tail and as if by magic the vole is hypnotized the vole has time to run he doesn't move he seems certain to kill but at the crucial moment her kitten enters she clearly expresses her disapproval inspired by the discovery that the film crew experiences with their own fictional cat tail palace by simply waving the cat's tail doll catches the attention of this vole not only one but three are obsessed with the swinging object oggy has an explanation sees something unknown stops moving to check if it is safe or not a palace cat takes this opportunity to get closer to its prey, The tail also has another use and a palace cat may not always know which entrance hole to aim for.

By wagging its tail, the cat stops the vole in its tracks for a moment to discover which entrance is used. Most of the time, this mother with her kitten has caught four voles in 20 minutes and one night she will pass this technique on to her kittens. The team witnesses a mother cat and her five kittens traveling together. The family must move to a different place every few days. If they stay in the same place, they could eventually run out of food. She repeatedly looks back to check that she hasn't left them behind. The family can travel from 500 meters to 2 kilometers at a time, but with a limit of rocky terrain to choose from. it's easy to bump into neighbors unexpectedly two families seem to have chosen the same place now there are nine kittens in total one of the kittens has decided to boldly move directly towards the camera crew the kitten comes up to within three meters of the camera then, maybe later After sensing the presence of the team, he thinks better of it and turns to run.

His littermates and his new friends are eager to greet the kitten upon his return. The two families seem happy in each other's company for a while. It's the end of July. Five kittens. examines its surroundings, this litter is about three months old and still depends a lot on its mother's catches, so at a short distance it spends all its time catching field mice, waits next to a hole in the ground, turns to one side and momentarily disappears from view with just enough time to grab its prey, your kittens are practicing their own hunting skills, they have

master

ed crawling and tail wagging, not quite, but they don't abandon the sideways roll, like mom, Another lady, these two seem to be aiming for the same prey.

Moving to the front, the first kitten discovers his hiding place and the vole escapes to safety, but the one behind has a stroke of luck when he sees that mom has paid off and the kitten is rewarded with a catch. The brothers are becoming rivals when it comes to survival. planes but kittens must learn to be aware of danger themselves an eagle on the move kittens quickly take cover but fortunately for them this eagle opts for the easier task of catching rodents they will have to be careful if they want to reach adulthood The kittens are becoming more independent every day, but the return of the mother still offers them comfort.

They will need to suckle a little more despite becoming competent hunters themselves. While the kittens focus their attention on the milk, she remains alert a month later and there is a change in the family. when the kittens ask for milk the mother ignores them one of them begs her but again and again she shakes them but it is not just the mother's behavior that has changed this kitten is so focused on hunting practice that he does not realize when their mother walks away only two of the five kittens follow their mother that day she does not wait for the others the kittens are three and a half months old when they feel ready to leave one by one they will stay behind it is the end of August a cold wind is blowing On the plains of Mongolia, the grass has become long and green, but summer is coming to an end and the team has captured the radio telemetry signal of a young palace cat.

He is one of five siblings that the pup team had been monitoring. His mother recently wants to check on his progress since she left her mother. The young male is on this patch of grass. He is completely hidden. They catch up with him again hiding between some rocks and then they see the female. She takes the first opportunity she can to run. She is no longer a care

free

kitten, she is cautious like her mother was. The team examined the area carefully to look for the remaining siblings. They find another within a two kilometer radius, a young female among the rocks and another young male.

All four appear healthy, but there are one After losing the team they could not find the last young female that day, they focus their attention on finding the mother and discover something unexpected, they find her in the hills 20 kilometers away and there is something different in this terrain, there are no cracks in the rocks where to hide. Once separated family members become rivals, the mother has sacrificed her territory to facilitate the survival of her offspring. It's been almost three weeks since the kittens left their mother and Auggie and the team catches up with a young cat who seems to have gotten the hang of it. the art of surviving alone a healthy looking young male appears among the rocks after scanning the surroundings he begins to stalk if he sensed danger he crouches down after a pause he starts again in the blink of an eyepounce using his mother's rotation technique now taught him to move on to the next success again the next one takes a little longer but he is persistent, he feels something behind and is rewarded, he makes three catches in 40 minutes, they will be consumed and stored as fat in preparation for winter using past hunting skills.

Outside of his mother, this young male is thriving on his own. He has shown Oggy that he is a skilled hunter. He decides to take off the radio collar before winter comes, but something is bothering Oggy. He has not been able to find the fifth young man. female then one day they find themselves here unexpectedly the young female was attacked by a bald eagle only 30 percent of young cats arrive each year and there is no guarantee that the others will survive the winter at the end of November the planes are covered in snow Once again, Aldi and the team continue their investigation, they find a hole in the ground and there is a young male nearby, his fur is long and dense, he has a thick layer of fat and he is aggressive, he has everything he needs to survive .

From spring through the four seasons, the palace cats have demonstrated hunting skills like no other; it takes a special type of cat to survive the extremes of Mongolian

nature

. The palace cat is nothing if not tough, but it takes more than toughness to thrive here as aggressive predators. These cats have passed on skills from mother to kitten that are not seen in any other. other feline species, but they must be cautious enough to avoid becoming prey. They are the true

master

s of the Mongolian plains, so