I’ve just returned from Mongolia, a new destination I was scouting for future tours. It was an interesting experience, full of new species for me (something that always gets me excited in the field). There were two main wildlife goals on this trip, and fortunately, we landed both. One was the Pallas’s cat.
This small feline has been considered pretty elusive (until perhaps more recently, as we’re seeing more and more photos of them these days). We saw plenty, but it’s not an easy subject to work with. They can be very difficult to spot due to their camouflage, low profile, and very slow movement.
In fact, it’s one of the odder mammals I’ve ever watched. I’m pretty certain that this cat doesn’t actually believe we can see it. When they decide they want to start moving in your presence, they will move ever-so-slowly (positively sloth-like, perhaps even slower), with delicate, careful movement and placement of each limb. If their body is facing you, they will back directly up like a jumbo jet taxiing away from the gate, then pull a 180 (which takes about 2 minutes), then they will walk directly away from you in slow motion, occasionally giving you a glare like this over their shoulder (again, even the head turn takes forever).
As a result, it was very difficult to get profile or even “3/4” views of this species’ body. This, our first encounter, is one of the better views we got out of about fifteen sightings. It encapsulates the Pallas’s cat experience pretty well.
A wonderful capture and I really like their dazed eyes ! It’s a new addition to your portfolio.
Incidentally, many of my friends photographed this specie in Ladakh (India) for the first time.
OMG - aka the Asian Sausage Cat. Wow, that hardly looks feline at all. Not just the body shape which is positively tubular, but the dazed look Jagdeep mentioned. I’ve never seen a cat look so out of it. Impressive work and I can’t imagine how mind-numbingly dull it must be compared to other subjects you photograph.
That sounds hilarious, Max! I probably wouldn’t get a shot because I would be laughing so much! This is a nice capture showing how hard they would be to spot in the surroundings. Must have been an amazing trip. Look forward to more of your photos from there.
Jagdeep, it’s interesting how only a few years ago, we were only seeing camera trap footage of this species, and now people are figuring out ways to photograph them successfully in various locations. I’m definitely tempted to visit in summer, to see kittens!
A great shot of this roly-poly cat. All cats put on some winter fat and this guy shows that life in a tough habitat requires to put on the pounds before the first snow falls. Well done…Jim
What a great image!! I’ve seen TV shows of these cats in zoos, but this is so great to see an image from the wild.
What a fantastic look they have!!!
Well done! Your story really adds to this image.
I’m so used to slow photography that I always struggle when things happen “too fast”.