Scientists Find The "Original Grumpy Cat" Species Living On Mount Everest
Timothy Roberts
If there is one thing we know about the Internet, people love watching cat videos. They will jump from one video to the next, sometimes taking hours to find the one they like the most.
One of the cats that captured the world's attention was the "Grumpy Cat." Even after the original grumpy cat died, a new one stepped in to take his place.
Photo: Scientists have known about a rare cat, the Pallas' cat, for quite some time. They recently discovered it also lives about 3 miles above sea level on Mount Everest.
During an expedition that lasted for a month, they discovered this unique cat species in the National Park on Mount Everest's Southern Flank. They were not necessarily looking for the feline in Nepal, but they found it.
Photo: After recovering scat from two different sites, they discovered that the Pallas cats were in the area. According to a news release from the Wildlife Conservation Society, those sites were located almost 4 miles apart at approximately 17,000 feet above sea level. It helped them to confirm that those cats were in the area.
Even before the Internet meme came about, these felines were known as the "original grumpy cat." They are a unique species with a lot of character.
Found in Asia at higher elevations, they can be challenging to track down. Finding these cats in the park was even a better day for environmentalists because they found they were feeding on mountain weasels and pikas. Until then, they didn't know that the other animals were also in the park.
Photo: According to the news release, the leader of the expedition, Dr. Tracie Seimon, said: "It is phenomenal to discover proof of this rare and remarkable species at the top of the world."
She also spoke about how rewarding it was for the month-long trek into the wilderness to turn up such a discovery. Simeon talked about the remote high-Alpine ecosystem and how Everest is rich in its biodiversity.
The Pallas's cat may have lived in the park for ages, but it was elusive until the study in 2019. Although at this time, it is considered a species of no concern, we realize that without this unique feline in place, the world would be a little smaller.
