MONGOLIA: A PALLAS’S CAT KITTEN QUEST

Photographic Highlights

• Photographing the wonderfully 'grumpy' Pallas's Cat in the rocky steppes of Mongolia
• A chance to photograph adorable Pallas's Cat kittens at their dens
• Furtive little faces peering at us from behind boulders, and then the kittens emerging into full view and sunning themselves on the rocks
• Watching the kittens learning to hunt: it just comes so naturally!
• Frenetic bursts of activity when the kittenz 'zoom', jump, tumble and fight
• Hoping the mother returns to be greeted by her kittens and then suckle them
• Photographing curious but often skittish Corsac Foxes and tiny Brandt's Voles
• Huge Cinereous Vultures and big Steppe Eagles and Upland Buzzards
• Magnificent Saker Falcons sweeping ovder the steppe
• Finding barrel-like Eurasian Eagle-Owls in a rocky canyon
• Going out at night to find Siberian Jerboas with improbably long ears, legs and tail!
• Graceful Demoiselle Cranes with their silver-grey, black and white plumage, contrasting with the bright green summer grasslands
• Admiring the wild Przewalski's Horses at Khustai National Park, not to mention those noisy Tarbagan Marmots amidst the wildflowers
• Enjoying some of the most pristine steppe scenery on Earth, in a truly wild and mostly empty country
• Exploring a country with a fascinating history, where the great Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire
• Travelling far and wide across 'a land without fences', a true wildlife adventure!

PRICE INFORMATION

Wild Images Inclusions: Our tour prices include transportation, accommodations, meals and entrance fees.

Our tour prices also include all tips for local guides, drivers, camp staff and accommodation/restaurant staff.

Deposit: 20% of the total tour price. Our office will let you know what deposit amount is due, in order to confirm your booking, following receipt of your online booking form.

TO BOOK THIS TOUR: Click here (you will need the tour dates)

The single supplement will not apply if you indicate on booking that you prefer to share a room/ger and there is a room-mate of the same sex available.

This tour is priced in US Dollars. Amounts shown in other currencies are indicative.

MONGOLIA: A PALLAS’S CAT KITTEN QUEST: DETAILED ITINERARY

Mongolia Pallas’s Cat: Day 1

Our tour begins this evening in Ulaanbaatar. (Note that Mongolia’s capital is still often known outside Mongolia as Ulan Bator.)

Ulaanbaatar is a relatively modern city, but one with bad traffic jams, situated in north-central Mongolia. Before the beginning of the 20th century, there were only a few permanent buildings here and, in consequence, there are only a few older structures of historical interest.

Mongolia Pallas’s Cat: Day 2

From Ulaanbaatar, we will travel far to the east to the Pallas’s Cat ‘ger (yurt) camp’ in the Khalzan area of eastern Mongolia for a seven-night stay.

We will stop along the way at a wetland area that will hold lots of birds, notably including the beautiful but endangered White-naped Crane, as well as Whooper Swans and quite possibly a few oversummering endangered Siberian Cranes that have returned early from the Arctic tundra after a failed breeding attempt. We could also see a Hooded Crane or two.

Before reaching the wetland, we will make a short stop to admire a truly gargantuan statue of Genghis Khan riding his warhorse.

Mongolia Pallas’s Cat: Days 3-8

The focus of our visit will, of course, be the wonderful Pallas’s Cat (known as ‘Manul’ in Mongolian). The area we are exploring has a high density of Pallas’s Cats. The cats like the rocky areas that punctuate the ridges in the steppe, probably because they provide cover when hunting and denning sites for the females in the spring and summer.

With the help of our expert local guides (no one in Mongolia can compare in terms of Pallas’s Cat knowledge and experience), we should have no trouble getting a series of sightings and almost certainly some truly awesome photographic opportunities.

Of all the Asian cats, Pallas’s Cat is surely an outstanding one, what with its round pupils and staring yellow eyes combined with its long bushy coat and a strange, Chinese-sage-like face.

Typically, the females have four to six kittens, but rarely larger litters of up to eight or even nine occur. The typical scenario is arriving at the den area, getting our gear out of the SUVs, sitting on chairs behind the hide/blind screen, and then waiting an hour or two until the disturbance of the arrival fades and the kittens decide to emerge!

Usually only one or two bolder kittens emerge at first, stealthily creeping out of their crack in the rocks and peering fixedly at the hide. They seem to know that we strange bipeds are lurking there, but after another 20 minutes or half an hour they all emerge, and the fun begins. Little furry bodies climb the rocks and sun themselves, and little be-whiskered faces and bright, staring eyes peer out across their world. And then they start to prowl, mock-hunt, frenetically ‘zoom’, jump, tumble and fight, just like domestic cat kittens do…!

On occasion the mother returns to the den, perhaps bringing a rodent for the kittens. She may suckle them, as they are still young. Like all young cats, they get excited when mum turns up, wrapping themselves around her and providing great photographic opportunities!

It is hard to drag ourselves away, but in the morning the light becomes harsh, and the kittens sleep, and of course after sunset the light soon fades. And we need prey as well. Breakfast or dinner calls.

While the Pallas’s Cats are the prime focus of our expedition and most of our time will be devoted to them, there are a series of other excellent photo subjects in the steppe.

Corsac Foxes are common, and sometimes one comes across a fearless individual that allows a relatively close approach. Mongolian Gazelles inhabit the area, but are hunted and wary. The steppe, including our camp compound, hosts numerous cute little Brandt’s Voles and smaller numbers of Mongolian Jirds (or Mongolian Jerbils).

Spotlighting should turn up the ultra-cute Siberian Jerboa and the little Campbell’s Hamster. There is a slim chance of Steppe Polecat.

There are some rewarding bird subjects as well.

The Upland Buzzard, a species endemic to the Tibetan Plateau and Central Asia, is big, impressive and everywhere, while Steppe Eagles are widespread and can be approachable. The owners of our camp, keen conservationists, have erected no fewer than 100 nest boxes on poles to provide nesting places for the splendid Saker Falcon, and unlike most areas in its range, here they often allow a close approach by vehicle. Cinereous Vultures with a wingspan of over two metres (6.5 feet) are also present.

One of the most beautiful and charismatic birds of the steppe is the elegant Demoiselle Crane. These silver-grey birds with black heads set off with a wisp of white are still common in this remote area.

On one morning we will forsake the kittens and head for a rocky gorge where huge Eurasian Eagle-Owls and their young can be found. The birds here are significantly larger than those found in Europe, making them really, really big. They are one of the biggest owls in the world, and these barrel-shaped birds certainly look the part!

For those interested in specialities, there are smart Oriental Plovers (with delightful chicks), big Mongolian Larks, Mongolian Short-toed Larks, Blyth’s Pipits, Isabelline Shrikes and Pere David’s Snowfinches.

Mongolia Pallas’s Cat: Day 9  Today, reluctantly, we will return to Ulaanbaatar for an overnight stay.

Mongolia Pallas’s Cat: Day 10  Our tour ends this morning in Ulaanbaatar.

(An airport transfer will be provided if you are departing today.)

KHUSTAI NATIONAL PARK EXTENSION

Khustai: Day 1

The extension begins this evening in Ulaanbaatar, where we will spend the night.

Khustai: Day 2

To avoid the traffic, we will set off early for Khustai National Park, situated a couple of hours’ drive to the west of the city, where we will spend the night at a ‘tourist ger camp’. (Note: Khustai is pronounced ‘Hustai’ as Kh in Mongolian sounds like a harsh H.)

Khustai National Park preserves a large tract of pristine steppe where Przewalski’s Horse was reintroduced after being exterminated in the wild. Mercifully, there were still enough individuals in captivity in zoos and elsewhere to allow for a reintroduction effort, which has been highly successful.

Nowadays, these beautiful creatures, the last wild horse species left on earth, roam wild and free in their ancestral grasslands, and indeed they have now been introduced to other parts of Mongolia, so their future looks hopeful.

This is the foal season in Khustai, and we will hope to get some close encounters, although the herds have become more skittish as time has passed and they adopt wild ways.

The big Siberian form of the Red Deer or Elk is quite numerous in Khustai, so we should come across some. More common is the Tarbagan Marmot, a large rodent whose whistling cries will soon be a familiar sound.

Corsac Fox is common, and sometimes one can see Red Fox or even a Grey Wolf as they stalk the Daurian Ground Squirrels.

We will have our first encounters with steppe birds at Khustai and should be able to get great images of huge Cinereous Vultures and the ever-present Upland Buzzards. Fast-flying Amur Falcons may be seen where there are trees.

Khustai: Day 3

We will continue to explore Khustai this morning, and then, after lunch, we will head back to Ulaanbaatar.

This evening, we will join up with those arriving for the main tour.