Findings from a new paper published in Cat News have identified the first ever report of Pallas’s cat on Mount Everest, in the Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal. This groundbreaking finding is a result of the 2019 National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition, the most comprehensive single scientific expedition to the mountain in history. From April 7 to May 2, 2019, Dr. Tracie Seimon of Wildlife Conservation Society’s Zoological Health Program, based at the Bronx Zoo, co-led the Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition biology field team of scientists who collected environmental samples from two locations 6 km (3.7 miles) apart at 5,110 and 5,190 m (16,765 and 17,027 ft) elevation above sea level along Sagarmatha National Park on Mount Everest’s Southern Flank. “It is phenomenal to discover proof of this rare and remarkable species at the top of the world,” said Dr. Seimon. “The nearly four-week journey was extremely rewarding not just for our team but for the larger scientific community. The discovery of Pallas’s cat on Everest illuminates the rich biodiversity of this remote high-alpine ecosystem and extends the known range of this species to eastern Nepal.” The DNA analysis of scat samples collected from both sites confirmed two Pallas’s cats inhabit Mount Everest and overlap in territory with red fox. The researchers found evidence of pika and mountain weasel DNA in the samples, an important food source for Pallas’s cat. These findings also add a new species to the list of known mammals in Sagarmatha National Park, a heavily visited and protected World Heritage site. “This is a unique discovery not only in terms of science but also conservation as this population of Pallas’s cat is legally protected under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora),” said National Geographic Explorer and co-author of the paper, Dr. Anton Seimon. “We hope that the confirmation of this new charismatic species will raise awareness of and education about the diversity of species at this iconic World Heritage Site.” The number of tourists visiting Sagarmatha National Park and Mount Everest has been dramatically increasing, from just a few thousand in the 1970s to over fifty thousand in 2019. It is notable that Pallas’s cat went undetected in this park until 2019, and the new study demonstrates how conservation genetics and environmental sampling can be utilized as a powerful approach to discover and study cryptic and elusive species like Pallas’s cat. Future research combining camera trap surveys and collection of additional scat samples would help to better define the Pallas’s cat population, range, density, and their diet in Sagarmatha National Park. “The groundbreaking 2019 Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition continues to be extremely valuable to better understand the most iconic environment on our planet,” said Nicole Alexiev, Vice President of Science and Innovation Programs at National Geographic Society. “These results are a perfect illustration of why this work is important and a cornerstone of our partnership with Rolex to study and explore Earth’s critical life support systems.” From April to May 2019, an international, multidisciplinary team of scientists conducted the most comprehensive single scientific expedition to Mt. Everest in the Khumbu Region of Nepal as part of National Geographic and Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Expeditions partnership. Team members from eight countries, including 17 Nepalese researchers conducted trailblazing research in five areas of science that are critical to understanding environmental changes and their impacts: biology, glaciology, meteorology, geology and mapping.

 https://newsroom.wcs.org/ .. t-Everest.aspx

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Amazing photo

Its crazy how in those animal documentaries, they always got those dope a*s camera angles. Especially NatGeo. They could even get angles of ants maneuvering through a ant hole or something lol.

Cat has an extra chromosome

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Cats are amazing , those basturds can survive in winter and summer outside

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daman729 said Its crazy how in those animal documentaries, they always got those dope a*s camera angles. Especially NatGeo. They could even get angles of ants maneuvering through a ant hole or something lol.

I have a habit of being up 3-4 am watching gorilla videos

Look like he didn’t want his spot blown up smh

actionjaxon2517 said Look like he didn’t want his spot blown up smh

Bahaha

that picture has smiley potential lol

dagreat1_87 said that picture has smiley potential lol

I tried but the background won't let me cut it

Anyone know where I can cop a few of these guys on the low ?

Born Bad said Cats are amazing , those basturds can survive in winter and summer outside view image

I've always had a soft spot for cats. It's interesting that rabbits/cats are my zodiac sign for Eastern astrology.
Chinese: Rabbit
Vietnamese: Cat

Cats are smooth talkers, talented, and ambitious and will succeed in studies. They are in conflict with rats. A Cat Person has a supple mind and patient personality and is one who knows how to wait for favorable conditions before taking action. Like the dog in Western, cat in Vietnam is a domestic animal that is beloved by many people. The cat is little, pretty, smart, and helps to protect the house from the rats. Therefore, those who are born in Cat year have lots of personality traits such as good judgment, conservation, caution, talent, ambition, and creativeness. On the other hand, the cat is stubborn, superficial, self-indulgent, and mood-swing. The Cat people can adapt quickly to the environment, they can feel comfortable both in society or being alone. These people are fond of flexibility, they do not want to be committed to one person or settle down. Cats are quite out-going, helpful, and kind, however, they just believe and listen to themselves and rarely care what people think about.

I’ll stand by this there gonna find an alien one day and somehow we’re gonna end up living with them daily

Or we’re gonna get accidentally nuked by the government

Somebody will find a way to hunt and k*ll it just to put the picture on Facebook.

Iron Stan said I’ll stand by this there gonna find an alien one day and somehow we’re gonna end up living with them daily Or we’re gonna get accidentally nuked by the government

Your mom accidentally slipped and fell on my cack

Iron Stan said I’ll stand by this there gonna find an alien one day and somehow we’re gonna end up living with them daily Or we’re gonna get accidentally nuked by the government

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actionjaxon2517 said Look like he didn’t want his spot blown up smh

Yeah like they just woke him up

GOLDUST said Your mom accidentally slipped and fell on my cack

I propped you because you made me appreciate real trolls.grow up

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OaklandSmokin said Somebody will find a way to hunt and k*ll it just to put the picture on Facebook.

More than likely somebody would try to go up and pet it and end up getting scratched to hell

HERMES said view image

Classic

KdenIII said view image

This is exactly how I feel when someone at the drive thru window passes me my bag of food with dirt under their fingernails

Playa from the Himalayas