Crossing the border of a small felid conservation: A case study to investigate the threats to the European wildcat in Hungary and Pallas’s cat in Mongolia

The European wildcat Felis silvestris and Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul are listed as Least concern on the IUCN Red List. However, both cats face the same threats due to anthropogenetic activity worldwide, and another threat is a lack of ecological knowledge. In this study, we investigated threats to both cats through interviews and an online questionnaire. We gathered data on wildcats from 206 respondents through Game Management Units in Hungary, and 107 herders were interviewed on a Pallas’s cat survey in Mongolia in 2022. The results showed that the primary threat to wildcats was hybridization with domestic cats (Felis catus) 32%, followed by a lack of habitat 31%, and disease 12%. Roadkill and predators accounted for 6%, and poisoning and hunting 4% were other concerns. Meanwhile, lack of prey (13%) and lack of habitat (11%) were major threats to Pallas’s cats in addition to herding dogs (7%). Nonetheless, 65% of respondents believed that there was no threat to Pallas’s cats in the area. Our study suggests that a lack of habitat is a main threat for wildcats and Pallas’s cats, and hybridization is thought to be a critical threat to wildcats, whereas Pallas's cats face a lack of prey. A robust understanding of small Felid's threats is paramount to defining sound conservation plans for future management in Hungary and Mongolia.