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Sixty percent of Pallas's cat kittens born in zoos die within their first few weeks. The killer is toxoplasmosis — a parasite so common that most house cats carry it without ever getting sick. Pallas's cats have zero natural immunity to it. They evolved in environments so cold that bacteria barely survive. In captivity, surrounded by parasites their immune systems have never encountered, they have no defense.
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6 claims
Every claim below links to the sources behind it. Peer-reviewed research and public records come first.
A 2005 study of 15 wild Mongolian Pallas's cats found only two (13%) seropositive for Toxoplasma gondii, with low titers.
The study found no exposure in local domestic cats or prey, suggesting wild cats rarely meet the parasite and are infected after capture.
North American zoo kittens have had roughly 60% mortality, mostly from toxoplasmosis.
At Vienna's Schönbrunn Zoo, 14 of 24 Pallas's cat kittens born from 1998 to 2002 (58%) died of toxoplasmosis.
Pallas's cats have the densest fur of any cat, which insulates them below -58°F, and their skull shape may help them see while hunting as snow builds up around their faces.
Its ears are set low on the sides of the head, letting it peer over objects.
Brown, Meredith; Lappin, Michael R.; Brown, Janine L.; Munkhtsog, Bariushaa; Swanson, William F.. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 2005
41(4):691–700.
Basso, W.; Edelhofer, R.; Zenker, W.; Möstl, K.; Kübber-Heiss, A.; Prosl, H.. Parasitology, 2005
Parasitology 130(3):293–299
Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, 2024
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
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