Manul of Mongolia Photo Tour 2022 Trip Report

For our inaugural manul photo tour, we visited eastern Mongolia for a total of ten days. Upon landing, tour leader Sebastian Kennerknecht knew he was in love with this country. Vast, open grasslands as far as the eye could see. It felt freeing and open with possibilities. And our guests were not disappointed. We saw a total of seventeen different manul (also known as pallas’s cat) for the duration of the tour. Absolutely incredible! Read the rest of our manul of Mongolia photo tour 2022 trip report to see what else we saw.

Manul of Mongolia Photo Tour 2022 Trip Report
Two manul kittens curiously look while out of their rocky den, during our inaugural manul photo tour.

Highlights of the 2022 Manul Photo Tour

Manul: We photographed seventeen different manul in the steppes of eastern Mongolia during our manul of Mongolia photo tour. This included mothers and kittens. Sightings averaged forty-five minutes per cat, at an average distance of fifteen yards.

A manul kitten’s curiosity is peaked when it sees a songbird in the distance. It stalk ended
quickly as it realized it was not going to catch the bird.
A manul kitten’s curiosity is peaked when it sees a songbird in the distance. It stalk ended
quickly as it realized it was not going to catch the bird.

Corsac Fox: We saw more than fifteen corsac foxes with the highlight being a parent bringing rodent prey back to the den.

A corsac fox pauses on the steppes of eastern Mongolia. We saw fourteen different foxes
during our photo tour.
A corsac fox pauses on the steppes of eastern Mongolia. We saw fourteen different foxes
during our photo tour.

Steppe Eagle: We had great flight shot opportunities of this gigantic raptor. Additionally, we had the chance to photograph three different nests with chicks of different ages, including at close range.

Steppe eagles were the largest diurnal raptor we saw during the photo tour. They were
impressive to watch as they soared over the Mongolian steppe.
Steppe eagles were the largest diurnal raptor we saw during the photo tour. They were
impressive to watch as they soared over the Mongolian steppe.

Detailed Trip Summary 2022

Day 1: Mongolia is a gorgeous country with the lowest human population density in the world. A large percentage of the population is still nomadic. Flight and airport options are few and far between, so everyone landed in Ulaanbaatar, the capitol. We enjoyed a welcome dinner before sauntering to bed.

Day 2: With a packed breakfast in hand, we left Ulaanbaatar early with our local guide to make our nine-hour drive to the steppes of eastern Mongolia. The ride didn’t seem too long as we had good opportunities to see unique raptors, like the cinereous vulture and saker falcon.

Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) photographed near the road on our way to eastern Mongolia
Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) photographed near the road on our way to eastern Mongolia

When we arrived at camp, we admired the beautiful, traditional Gers (yurts) that we would be sleeping in. Soon after we were greeted with delicious, traditional Mongolian lunch. The food included dumplings, bean salads, and homemade butter for breakfast. Our two vegetarian clients were easily accommodated by the thoughtful cooks!

Our accommodations were traditional gers (also known as yurts). They were beautiful and comfortable!
Our accommodations were traditional gers (also known as yurts). They were beautiful and comfortable!

After a short, yet insightful presentation on the manul (also called Pallas’s cats), we headed out for our first safari.

We had an adrenaline inducing sighting right off the bat, with an upland buzzard chasing a corsac fox. That was followed by a close view of a steppe eagle nest with two chicks. Less than fifteen minutes later, our spotters found three manul kittens. One of them was brave enough to come out of the rocks (it seemed like they were moving between dens) and explore its surroundings. It was a fantastic start!

Our first manul, a kitten, during our manul photo tour. The sunset light perfectly illuminated
this cute cat!
Our first manul, a kitten, during our manul photo tour. The sunset light perfectly illuminated
this cute cat!

Day 3-8: Days would start at 5:00am in time to find wildlife in good photography light, at sunrise. In the mornings we would focus our efforts on finding the non-manul wildlife of the steppe, as we didn’t want to put pressure on the cats. During these mornings we had multiple close encounters with corsac fox, steppe eagles (including chicks in their nest), Eurasian eagle owl fledglings, and families of demoiselle cranes.

An Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) fledgling sits on a cliff during our tour in eastern Mongolia
An Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) fledgling sits on a cliff during our tour in eastern Mongolia

For our afternoon manul photography, our local guide would set up temporary blinds at manul dens, early in the afternoon before the cats were active, to minimize disturbance. Then we would generally wait an hour before the first manul kitten would curiously stick its head out the rock pile. Soon after, the rest of the litter would leave the inner den and explore the outside world. They would play with each other, look for mom, stalk songbirds unsuccessfully, all the way until sunset. Mom manul would sometimes return to the den and bring caught rodent, or pika prey, which the kittens would devour quickly. Shortly after sunset we would swiftly take down the blind and leave the cats.

In total we saw seventeen different manul individuals and our average time with each cat was forty-five minutes. Here are some of the highlight photos from our manul sessions!

A female manul at sunset. During our manul photo tour we would see mother’s come back
to the den to deliver rodent prey to their young.
A female manul at sunset. During our manul photo tour we would see mother’s come back
to the den to deliver rodent prey to their young.
Two sibling manul play with each other at sunset. The manul kittens would routinely come out
of their den at sunset, to play, look for mom, or chase birds unsuccessfully.
Two sibling manul play with each other at sunset. The manul kittens would routinely come out
of their den at sunset, to play, look for mom, or chase birds unsuccessfully.
A manul mother and her your kitten stare over the Mongolian steppe during our manul
photo tour in 2022.
A manul mother and her your kitten stare over the Mongolian steppe during our manul
photo tour in 2022.
Two manul kittens play, practicing their hunting techniques at their den in eastern Mongolia.
Two manul kittens play, practicing their hunting techniques at their den in eastern Mongolia.

Day 9: We departed for Ulaanbaatar at sunrise, looking for wildlife along the way. We saw some Mongolian gazelle in the distance and had a close sighting of steppe eagle.

With an early afternoon arrival, everyone enjoyed the comforts of the hotel before meeting up for a final celebratory dinner.

Day 10: Everyone flew out from Ulaanbaatar airport.

Manul Photo Tour 2022 Species List

Mammals

Mongolian GazelleProcapra gutturosa
ManulOtocolobus manul
Corsac FoxVulpes corsac
Tolai Hare Lepus tolai
Mongolian HamsterAllocricetulus curtatus
Brandt’s VoleLasiopodomys brandtii

Birds

Demoiselle CraneAnthropoides virgo
Cinereous VultureAegypius monachus
Steppe EagleAquila nipalensis
Eurasian Eagle-OwlBubo bubo
Little OwlAthene noctua
Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
Eurasian KestrelFalco tinnunculus
Saker FalconFalco cherrug
Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
A mother manul and her three kittens resting outside their den during our manul photo tour in 2022.
A mother manul and her three kittens resting outside their den during our manul photo tour in 2022.