25/09/2025
😾 The wildcat was photographed at a staggering elevation of 16,400 feet (4,992 meters).
The image of a Pallas's cat was taken in Arunachal Pradesh, India, marking a major discovery in the study of elusive wild felines.
The image, taken at a staggering elevation of 16,400 feet (4,992 meters), confirms the presence of this grumpy-faced, thick-furred predator in a region where it had never been documented before.
Conducted by WWF India and the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department, the extensive eight-month survey deployed 136 camera traps across 2,000 square kilometers of remote Himalayan terrain—revealing the incredible biodiversity hidden at these heights.
Long thought to inhabit only parts of Sikkim, Bhutan, and eastern Nepal, this sighting significantly expands the known range of the ancient species, which diverged from other wild cats over 5 million years ago.
The survey also recorded five other wild cat species—snow leopards, common leopards, clouded leopards, marbled cats, and leopard cats—highlighting the region’s exceptional ecological richness. Scientists say this discovery opens new doors for research into how multiple carnivores share space at extreme altitudes, and reinforces the urgency of conserving the fragile high-altitude ecosystems of the eastern Himalayas.
