Wildcat known for grumpy expression detected for the first time on Mount Everest

One of the planet’s most unique wildcats has been detected for the first time on the tallest mountain on Earth — Mount Everest.

One of the planet’s most unique wildcats has been detected for the first time on the tallest mountain on Earth — Mount Everest.

The Pallas’s cat has short, stubby legs and a striped, fluffy body, but is most well-known for its face, which resembles a Persian housecat who woke up feeling extra grumpy that day.

Although this small, sour-looking wildcat can be found across numerous countries in Asia, primarily in Central Asia, their largest populations are believed to exist in Mongolia.

Finding evidence that at least one Pallas’s cat lives in one of the most remote places on Earth was surprising to researchers.

“It is phenomenal to discover proof of this rare and remarkable species at the top of the world,” Tracie Seimon with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Zoological Health Program at the Bronx Zoo said in a press release.

“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 discovery was made due to data collected by Seimon and other scientists during the 2019 National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everst Expedition, which was a scientific expedition that sought to collect environmental samples in Sagarmatha National Park on Mount Everest’s southern flank.