Russian Farmer Finds Mystery Kittens

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By Samme

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(Image: radzhana-daur.livejournal.com)

A Russian farmer was walking his property when he found four strange kittens in his barn. The spotted kittens looked very different than typical domestic tabby cats, according to a report on HeroViral. He contacted the Daursky Nature Reserve, which adopted the kittens, whose eyes were still closed. The staff of the Daursky State Nature Biosphere Reserve were also able to identify the strange kittens as Manul or Pallas’s cats, an endangered species of wild cat native to Centra Asia. The reserve is located in the ecologically important Daurian Steppe region at the junction of China, Russia and Mongolia.

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The resourceful staff soon found some domestic cats willing to foster the kittens, who survived and thrived.

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(Image: radzhana-daur.livejournal.com)

The kittens caregivers, human and cat,  became very attached, but did not lose sight of the need to return the cats to their natural habitat when they grew into young adults.

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Manul cats are small but powerful cats with thick fur who live in the frigid, snow-covered steppes of Central Asia. They are elusive and are sometimes called “small ghost cats of the mountains.” Their numbers have been shrinking due to hunting by humans and efforts by farmers to kill the rodents the cats rely on for food. They are highly expressive and alert, with wide faces and watchful, intelligent eyes.

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(Image: radzhana-daur.livejournal.com)

Last month, LifeWithCats.tv wrote about the new international effort underway to study and protect the endangered Manul cat.

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