Two Rare Felines Dubbed “Original Grumpy Cat” Were Discovered on Mount Everest
Recent findings from researchers in Nepal indicate that the cat made it to Mount Everest, which would be the first time in known history that they were recorded there.
The Pallas’s cat (a.k.a. the manul) is a wild feline, roughly the same size as a typical house cat, known to inhabit remote mountainous areas in Asia. The species has been affectionately nicknamed the “original grumpy cat” because of its dour-like facial expression.
Recent findings from researchers in Nepal indicate that the cat made it to Mount Everest, which would be the first time in known history that they were recorded there.
According to environmental news outlet Mongabay, a team of scientists were collecting water samples on and around Everest in 2019, when they came across animal droppings at a location more than 16,000 ft above sea level.
“When we found a scat, we didn’t know which animal it belonged to. We just collected the samples and brought it to our lab,” said the expedition’s lead scientist Tracie Seimon, via Mongabay.
The samples were ultimately confirmed to have come from two manuls. “It is phenomenal to discover proof of this rare and remarkable species at the top of the world,” Seimon said in a statement released on January 26, 2023, by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
“The current confirmation of Pallas’s cat in the Everest region is very exciting news as the species’ distribution range is expanding in Nepal,” said conservationist Rinzin Phunjok Lama, via Mongabay. “This also shows that non-invasive methods such as genetics can be effective to conduct rapid presence-absence surveys of the animal in other areas in Nepal.”