New to Nepal, Pallas cat

[vogelcommando]

For the first time, Pallas cats have been photographed in Nepal ! :
Discovery of First Pallas' Cat in Nepal | Snow Leopard ConservancySnow Leopard Conservancy

 

[nanoboy]

For the first time, Pallas cats have been photographed in Nepal ! :
Discovery of First Pallas' Cat in Nepal | Snow Leopard ConservancySnow Leopard Conservancy

Given that there is no Nepalese word for it, and no prior anecdotal evidence of its existence, I wonder what that means? Is it a vagrant cat, or is there a breeding population in the remote region? Intriguing...

 

[zooboy28]

Interestingly, Handbook of the Mammals of the World does mention Nepal in the Pallas' Cat distribution section, specifically "Kashmir to Nepal", which is a little ambiguous I guess. A quick look online shows that a few distributions for this species included Nepal well before this photo was taken, although I don't know what evidence that is based on.