Sand Cat
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The sand cat (''Felis margarita'') is a small wild
cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
that inhabits sandy and stony
desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
s far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a long tail. Its short ears are set low on the sides of the head, aiding detection of prey moving underground. The long hair covering the soles of its
paw A paw is the soft foot-like part of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws. Common characteristics The paw is characterised by thin, pigmented, keratinised, hairless epidermis covering subcutaneous collagenous and adipose tissue, ...
s insulates its pads against the extremely hot and cold temperatures in deserts. The first sand cat known to science was discovered in the
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
n
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
and described in 1858. To date, it has been recorded in several disjunct locations in
Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
,
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
,
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
,
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesChad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, the
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
and the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. In
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
, it was first recorded in the
Karakum Desert The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum ( tk, Garagum, ; rus, Караку́мы, Karakumy, kərɐˈkumɨ), is a desert in Central Asia. Its name in Turkic languages means "black sand": "" means sand; "" is a contraction of : " ...
in 1925. The large gap between these two regions of its global range was partially closed in 1948, when a sand cat skin was found in an
oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
of the
Rub' al Khali The Rub' al KhaliOther standardized transliterations include: / . The ' is the assimilated Arabic definite article, ', which can also be transliterated as '. (; ar, ٱلرُّبْع ٱلْخَالِي (), the "Empty Quarter") is the sand de ...
in
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
. It is discontinuously distributed in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. In the early 1970s, sand cats were caught in southwestern
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and exported to zoos worldwide. Due to its wide distribution and large population, it is listed as
Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
on the
IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
. The sand cat usually rests in underground dens during the day and hunts at night. It moves on average at night in search of small
rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s and
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s. It also kills and consumes
venomous snake Venomous snakes are Species (biology), species of the Suborder (biology), suborder Snake, Serpentes that are capable of producing Snake venom, venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The v ...
s. In spring, the female gives birth to two to three kittens, which become
sexually mature Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definiti ...
around the age of one year. The sand cat's ecological requirements are still poorly understood, as only a few in-depth studies targeting wild sand cat populations have been conducted.


Taxonomy

''Felis margarita'' was the
scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
proposed by
Victor Loche Victor Loche (1806–1863) was a French soldier and naturalist. In 1856–1857, he participated in an expedition to the Algerian part of the Sahara, and described the mammals and birds of Algeria in the book ''Catalogue des mammifères et des ois ...
in 1858 who first described a sand cat specimen found in the area of "Négonça" in the northern Algerian Sahara. This
holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
specimen appears to have been lost. The species was named after the French General
Jean Auguste Margueritte Jean Auguste Margueritte (15 January 1823 – 6 September 1870), French General, father of Victor Margueritte and Paul Margueritte. After a career in Algeria, General Margueritte was mortally wounded in the great cavalry charge at Sedan, in ...
. In the 20th century, the following
zoological specimen A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use. Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (species), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology. Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Exampl ...
s of sand cats were described: *''Eremaelurus thinobius'' was proposed as a
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
by
Sergey Ognev Sergey Ivanovich Ognev (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Огнёв) (17 November 1886 in Moscow – 20 December 1951 in Moscow) was a scientist, zoologist and naturalist, remembered for his work on mammalogy. He graduated from Moscow Un ...
in 1926. The specimen had been collected in the eastern Karakum Desert in
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
. In 1938,
Reginald Innes Pocock Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. (4 March 1863 – 9 August 1947) was a British zoologist. Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward ...
also considered it a species, but subordinated it to the
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Felis ''Felis'' is a genus of small and medium-sized cat species native to most of Africa and south of 60° latitude in Europe and Asia to Indochina. The genus includes the domestic cat. The smallest ''Felis'' species is the black-footed cat with a h ...
'' using the scientific name ''Felis thinobius''. Later he considered it a sand cat
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
, which to date is widely recognised. *''F. m. meinertzhageni'' proposed by Pocock in 1938 was a sand cat skin from the Algerian Sahara. *''F. m. aïrensis'' proposed by Pocock in 1938 was a female specimen collected in the
Aïr Mountains The Aïr Mountains or Aïr Massif ( tmh, Ayăr; Hausa: Eastern ''Azbin'', Western ''Abzin'') is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara. Part of the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion, they r ...
in 1937. * ''F. m. scheffeli'' proposed by German zoologist Helmut Hemmer in 1974 was described on the basis of seven sand cats that had been captured alive in
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
's
Nushki Nushki (Urdu , ) is a town and district in Balochistan, Pakistan. It lies in a plain south-west of Quetta, at an elevation of above sea level. From Nushki, the flat Balochistan desert stretches away northward and westward to the Helmand River. ...
desert. * ''F. m. harrisoni'' proposed by Hemmer,
Grubb Grubb is a family name and may refer to the following: * Armstead Otey Grubb (1903–1968), American educator and acting president of Lincoln University * Catharina Elisabet Grubb (1721–1788), Finnish industrialist * Curtis Grubb (c. 1730 – ...
and Groves in 1976 was described on the basis of a skin and
skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
of an adult male sand cat captured in 1967 in
Umm al Samim The Umm al Samim () (also known as the Umm as Samim) is a quicksand area on the eastern edge of the Rub al'khali desert largely within Oman's borders. The waters, such as they are, drain into this brackish low-lying closed basin area off the Omani ...
,
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
. In 1974, ''F. m. margarita'', ''F. m. thinobia'' and ''F. m. scheffeli'' were temporarily recognized as valid
taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
. At the time, it was considered possible that sand cats eventually recorded in Afghanistan and
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
might constitute distinct subspecies. In 2005, ''F. m. margarita'', ''F. m. thinobia'', ''F. m. scheffeli'' and ''F. m. harrisoni'' were recognised as valid taxa by
W. Chris Wozencraft Wallace Christopher Wozencraft (1954–2007) was an American zoologist, specialising in smaller carnivorous mammals. He was professor of biology at Bethel College (Indiana), and chaired the committee on carnivorous mammals at the International Union ...
, who considered ''F. m. meinertzhageni'' and ''F. m. aïrensis''
synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of the
nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
''F. m. margarita''. The Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group reviewed the existing information and in 2017 recognized only two subspecies based on morphological differences, namely: * ''F. m. margarita'' is smaller in size and more yellow-coloured spotted or striped fur; it occurs in North Africa. * ''F. m. thinobia'' is larger in size with reduced markings and a darker, more greyish coat; it occurs in West and Central Asia. Analysis of
mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
of 47 individuals from across the sand cat's range showed that their
haplotype A haplotype ( haploid genotype) is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent. Many organisms contain genetic material ( DNA) which is inherited from two parents. Normally these organisms have their DNA or ...
s differed only by one to three
base pair A base pair (bp) is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both DNA ...
mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...
s. This low degree of genetic differentiation between the African and Asian sand cats indicates that the
Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...
may have been a barrier to
gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent a ...
.


Phylogeny

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
analysis of the
nuclear DNA Nuclear DNA (nDNA), or nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid, is the DNA contained within each cell nucleus of a eukaryotic organism. It encodes for the majority of the genome in eukaryotes, with mitochondrial DNA and plastid DNA coding for the rest. It ...
in tissue samples from all Felidae species revealed that the
evolutionary radiation An evolutionary radiation is an increase in taxonomic diversity that is caused by elevated rates of speciation, that may or may not be associated with an increase in morphological disparity. Radiations may affect one clade or many, and be rapid ...
of the Felidae began in Asia in the
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
around . Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at around . The sand cat is part of an
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
ary
lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populati ...
that is estimated to have genetically diverged from the
common ancestor Common descent is a concept in evolutionary biology applicable when one species is the ancestor of two or more species later in time. All living beings are in fact descendants of a unique ancestor commonly referred to as the last universal comm ...
of the ''Felis'' species around , based on analysis of their nuclear DNA. Analysis of their mitochondrial DNA indicates a genetic divergence of the ''Felis'' species at around . Both models agree that the
jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littora ...
(''F. chaus'') was the first ''Felis'' species that diverged, followed by the
black-footed cat The black-footed cat (''Felis nigripes''), also called the small-spotted cat, is the smallest wild cat in Africa, having a head-and-body length of . Despite its name, only the soles of its feet are black or dark blackish brown. With its bold s ...
(''F. nigripes'') and then the sand cat. It migrated into Africa, possibly during
Pleistocene glaciation The Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, is an alternating series of glacial and interglacial periods during the Quaternary period that began 2.58 Ma (million years ago) and is ongoing. Although geologists describe ...
events.
Migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
was likely facilitated by extended periods of low sea levels between continents. A
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
jaw and other skeletal remains of a sand cat were excavated in a
Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of ...
cave in El Harhoura located near
Temara Temara ( ar, تمارة; ber, ⵜⵎⴰⵔⴰ) is a coastal city in Morocco.Location information. It is located in the region of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, directly south of Rabat on the Atlantic coast, in the suburban area of the capital. The city h ...
in Morocco.


Characteristics

The sand cat's fur is of a pale, sandy, isabelline colour, but much lighter on the lower part of the head, around the nose, throat, and on the belly. A faint reddish line runs from the outer corner of each eye across the cheeks. Markings vary between individuals: some have neither spots nor stripes, some are faintly spotted, some have both spots and stripes. There are dark brown to blackish bars on the limbs, and the tail has a black tip with two or three dark rings alternating with buff bands. The head is sandy brown. The large, greenish-yellow eyes are ringed with white, and the nose is blackish. The cat's whiskers are white and up to long. The sand cat is a small cat, characterized by a flat, wide head, short legs, and a relatively long tail of . It stands at the shoulder and weighs . The head-and-body length ranges from . The long ears are set low, giving a broad, flat appearance to the head. The ears are tawny at the base and tipped with black, and more pointed than those of the
Pallas's cat The Pallas's cat (''Otocolobus manul'', also known as the manul, is a small wild cat with long and dense light grey fur. Its rounded ears are set low on the sides of the head. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a long bushy tail. It is ...
(''Otocolobus manul''). In Central Asia, the sand cat's winter coat is very long and thick, with hairs reaching up to in length. The sand cat's claws on the forelimbs are short and very sharp, and claws on the hind feet are small and blunt. The undersides of its paws are protected from extreme temperatures by a thick covering of fur. The long hairs growing between its toes create a cushion of fur over the foot pads, helping to insulate them while moving over hot sand. This feature makes the cat's tracks obscure and difficult to identify and follow. Its
skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
is arched in lateral outline with wide
zygomatic arch In anatomy, the zygomatic arch, or cheek bone, is a part of the skull formed by the zygomatic process of the temporal bone (a bone extending forward from the side of the skull, over the opening of the ear) and the temporal process of the zygomati ...
es. The
pinnae The auricle or auricula is the visible part of the ear that is outside the head. It is also called the pinna (Latin for "wing" or " fin", plural pinnae), a term that is used more in zoology. Structure The diagram shows the shape and location ...
of the ears are triangular, and the
ear canal The ear canal (external acoustic meatus, external auditory meatus, EAM) is a pathway running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The adult human ear canal extends from the pinna to the eardrum and is about in length and in diameter. Struc ...
is very wide, giving the cat an enhanced sense of hearing. The
auditory bulla The tympanic part of the temporal bone is a curved plate of bone lying below the squamous part of the temporal bone, in front of the mastoid process, and surrounding the external part of the ear canal. It originates as a separate bone (tympanic ...
e and the passages from the external ears to the
ear drum In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit sound from the air ...
s are greatly enlarged compared to other small wild cats; the inner parts of the ears are protected from foreign objects by long, closely spaced white hairs. The sand cat's
outer ear The outer ear, external ear, or auris externa is the external part of the ear, which consists of the auricle (also pinna) and the ear canal. It gathers sound energy and focuses it on the eardrum (tympanic membrane). Structure Auricle Th ...
is similar to that of a domestic cat, but its ear canal is about twice the size. The magnitude of acoustic input-admittance is about five times higher than of a domestic cat. Additionally, hearing sensitivity of the sand cat is about 8
decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...
s greater than that of the domestic cat. It has a
bite force Bite force quotient (BFQ) is a numerical value commonly used to represent the bite force of an animal, while also taking factors like the animal's size into account. The BFQ is calculated as the regression of the quotient In arithmetic, a ...
at the canine tip of 155.4
Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...
and a
bite force quotient Bite force quotient (BFQ) is a numerical value commonly used to represent the bite force of an animal, while also taking factors like the animal's size into account. The BFQ is calculated as the regression of the quotient In arithmetic, a ...
at the canine tip of 136.7.


Distribution and habitat

The sand cat inhabits both sandy and stony deserts. It is widely but not contiguously distributed in the deserts of North Africa and Southwest and Central Asia. It prefers flat or undulating terrain with sparse vegetation of grasses or small bushes; it avoids bare and shifting
sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
s, where little prey is available. In the
Moroccan Sahara The Southern Provinces ( ar, الأقاليم الجنوبية, Al-Aqalim al-Janubiyah, french: Provinces du Sud) or Moroccan Sahara ( ar, الصحراء المغربية, Assahra al-Maghribiya, french: Sahara marocain) are the terms used by th ...
, sand cats were sighted and photographed in the
Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab ( ar, الداخلة - وادي الذهب, ad-dāḵla - wādī ḏ-ḏahab; ber, ⴷⴷⴰⵅⵍⴰ ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⵏ ⵡⵓⵕⵖ, ddaxla asif n wuṛɣ) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. Before September 2015 it ...
region several times between 2005 and 2016. Sand cat kittens that had been hiding beneath a tuft of ''
Panicum turgidum ''Panicum turgidum'' is an old world clumping desert bunchgrass of the genus '' Panicum''. It is a plant of arid regions across Africa and Asia, and has been introduced to other parts of the world. Description ''Panicum turgidum'' is a perennia ...
'' grass were sighted and photographed in the area in April 2017. In Algeria, one individual was recorded near a
salt cedar The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...
mound in the
Ahaggar Mountains The Hoggar Mountains ( ar, جبال هقار, Berber: ''idurar n Ahaggar'') are a highland region in the central Sahara in southern Algeria, along the Tropic of Cancer. The mountains cover an area of approximately 550,000 km. Geography Thi ...
in 2008. No confirmed records are known in
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
,
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
and
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
. In
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
's
Lake Faguibine Lake Faguibine was a lake in Mali on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert situated 80 km west of Timbuktu and 75 km north of the Niger River to which it is connected by a system of smaller lakes and channels. In years when the height o ...
area, one individual was shortly sighted by night in 2011. In the
Ténéré The Ténéré (Tuareg: Tenere, literally: "desert") is a desert region in the south central Sahara. It comprises a vast plain of sand stretching from northeastern Niger into western Chad, occupying an area of over . The Ténéré's boundaries are ...
Desert, sand cats were observed in the 1980s and between 2008 and 2015. Sightings in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
's rocky
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
and
Eastern Desert The Eastern Desert (Archaically known as Arabia or the Arabian Desert) is the part of the Sahara desert that is located east of the Nile river. It spans of North-Eastern Africa and is bordered by the Nile river to the west and the Red Sea and ...
s date to the mid 1980s. In the Sinai peninsula, sand cats were sighted in the mid 1990s. On the Arabian Peninsula, a sand cat skin was discovered by
Wilfred Thesiger Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger (3 June 1910 – 24 August 2003), also known as Mubarak bin Landan ( ar, مُبَارَك بِن لَنْدَن, ''the blessed one of London'') was a British military officer, explorer, and writer. Thesiger's trav ...
in 1948 in an oasis of the Rub' al Khali desert. In
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
's Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area, sand cats were captured and encountered trapped in wire mesh fence surrounding the adjacent
Saja Umm Ar-Rimth Natural Reserve Saja Umm Ar-Rimth Natural Reserve is a protected area in Saudi Arabia managed by the Saudi Wildlife Authority. Overview The natural reserve is located in central Saudi Arabia with an area of . It was designated as a natural reserve in 1995. Bi ...
in the country's
Najd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...
region. In the
Tabuk Region Tabuk ( ar, مِنْطَقَة تَبُوْك '), also spelled ''Tabouk'', is a region of Saudi Arabia, located along the north-west coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It has an area of 146,072 km2 and a population of 91 ...
, two sand cats were killed by hunters in 2013 and 2016; and one individual was captured by a local farmer in 2014 and kept in a cage. Sand cats were also observed in 2014–2015 in three localities in the
Turaif Turaif () is a town in Northern Borders Province (also known as Al-Hudud ash Shamaliyah), Saudi Arabia, close to the border with Jordan. Turaif is located at a bend in Highway 85 as it turns west to Jordan. It is located at around . As of 2010, ...
area in northern Saudi Arabia. In 'Uruq Bani Ma'arid on the western edge of the Rub' al Khali, sand cats use
gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...
valley and sand dune habitats in the cool season from October to April; in the hot season from May to September, they mainly use sand dune habitat. In the
Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi The Eastern Region ( ar, ٱلْمِنْطَقَة ٱلشَّرْقِيَّة, Al-Minṭaqah ash-Sharqiyyah, since March 2017 officially renamed by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Al Ain Region ( ar, مِنْطَقَة ٱلْعَيْن, Min ...
, a sand cat was sighted in a gravel plain between dunes in 2003. Several sand cats were recorded in a protected area in Abu Dhabi's Al Gharbia area between April and December 2015, after an absence of sightings for ten years. In southern
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, four sand cats were radio-collared and tracked over a few months in the late 1980s in the
Arabah The Arabah, Araba or Aravah ( he, הָעֲרָבָה, ''hāʿĂrāḇā''; ar, وادي عربة, ''Wādī ʿAraba''; lit. "desolate and dry area") is a loosely defined geographic area south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the borde ...
Valley, which lies mostly in
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. The monitored sand cats frequently roamed in military camps of the Israeli army and crossed the international border. Since 2002, the sand cat is considered
locally extinct Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
in Israel, as it has not been recorded since the turn of the century. In Jordan, a sand cat was sighted for the first time in 1997 during a survey in a desert area in the eastern part of the country. In
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, sand cats were sighted and photographed by a
camera-trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by a change in some activity in its vicinity, like presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor – usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor ...
in a protected area near
Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...
in 2000 and 2001. In western
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, sand cats inhabit desert areas in the
Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...
, Muthanna and
Al Anbar Governorate Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...
s. In Iran, it occurs in arid flat plains and sandy desert of Abbas'abad Wildlife Reserve, Kavir National Park and
Petergan Rural District Petergan Rural District ( fa, دهستان پترگان) is a rural district (''dehestan'') in the Central District of Zirkuh County, South Khorasan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Pe ...
. Between March 2014 and July 2016, sand cats were also observed at elevations of in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, foremost in black saxaul dominated habitat. In central Iran, sand cats were observed foremost in sand dunes and sabulous areas during surveys in 2014–2016. In Pakistan, the first sand cat was detected in 1966 near the
Lora River The Dori, also called the Lora and Kadanai, is a river of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It runs for from Balochistan in Pakistan through Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, then flows into the Arghandab River. The Dori begins north of the city of Qu ...
in
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
. In the late 1960s, sand cats were also encountered in the
Chagai Hills The Chagai Hills is a range of granite hills in the Chagai District in Pakistan's Balochistan province. Location The Chagai Hills lie between 28' 46" to 29' 34" N and 63' 18" to 64' 50" in a desert area in the northernmost part of Chagai Dist ...
, an extremely arid area comprising rolling sand dunes and stony plains at an elevation of about . In Central Asia, the sand cat was known to occur up to the late 1960s in the
Karakum Desert The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum ( tk, Garagum, ; rus, Караку́мы, Karakumy, kərɐˈkumɨ), is a desert in Central Asia. Its name in Turkic languages means "black sand": "" means sand; "" is a contraction of : " ...
from the
Ustyurt Plateau The Ustyurt or Ust-Yurt (from kk, Үстірт; uz, Ustyurt; tk, Üstyurt; — flat hill, plateau) is a transboundary clay desert shared by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The plateau's semi-nomadic population raises sheep, goats, an ...
in the northwest to the
Kopet Dag The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh ( tk, Köpetdag; fa, کپه‌داغ), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about along the border southeast o ...
Mountains in the south, and from the
Kyzylkum Desert The Kyzylkum Desert ( uz, Qizilqum, Қизилқум, قىزىلقۇم; kk, Қызылқұм, Qyzylqūm, قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, i ...
to the
Syr Darya The Syr Darya (, ),, , ; rus, Сырдарья́, Syrdarjja, p=sɨrdɐˈrʲja; fa, سيردريا, Sirdaryâ; tg, Сирдарё, Sirdaryo; tr, Seyhun, Siri Derya; ar, سيحون, Seyḥūn; uz, Sirdaryo, script-Latn/. historically known ...
River and the northern border to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. Adult sand cats with kittens were photographed in the southern Kyzylkum Desert in spring 2013 and 2014.


Behaviour and ecology

The sand cat is solitary, except during the
mating season Seasonal breeders are animal species that successfully mate only during certain times of the year. These times of year allow for the optimization of survival of young due to factors such as ambient temperature, food and water availability, and ch ...
and when a female has kittens. It makes loud, high-pitched and short rasping sounds, especially when seeking a mate. Its vocalizations are similar to those of the domestic cat. It communicates by
urine spraying Urination, also known as micturition, is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, ...
and using
scent An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...
and scratch marks. It buries its
feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...
and covers it with sand. Its way of moving is distinct: with its belly close to the ground, it moves at a fast run punctuated with occasional leaps. It is capable of sudden bursts of speed and can sprint at speeds of per hour. Four radio-collared sand cats in Israel moved long distances of in a single night. They were generally active throughout the night, hunting and travelling an average distance of . They retired below ground at dawn and stayed in the burrow during the day. During the survey period, they used several burrows in their home ranges. Burrows are about deep and dug in slightly slanting ground with usually only a single entrance. Burrows with two or three entrances have also been observed. These burrows were either abandoned by
fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
es or
porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...
s, or dug by
gerbil The Mongolian gerbil or Mongolian jird (''Meriones unguiculatus'') is a small rodent belonging to the subfamily Gerbillinae. Their body size is typically , with a tail, and body weight , with adult males larger than females. The animal is use ...
s or other rodents. In winter, sand cats stay in the sun during the day, but during the hot season, they are
crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...
and
nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
. A male sand cat in Israel had a home range of . In Morocco, a male sand cat travelled in 30 hours. A female sand cat moved in an area of during six days, and two males had home ranges of . In 2018, several sand cats were observed resting in
brown-necked raven The brown-necked raven (''Corvus ruficollis'') is a larger bird (52–56 cm in length) than the carrion crow though not as large as the common raven. It has similar proportions to the common raven but the bill is not so large or deep and th ...
nests built in umbrella thorn acacia trees in the Moroccan Sahara.


Hunting and diet

In the Ténéré Desert, sand cats were observed preying foremost on small
rodents Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are nat ...
, and the young of
cape hare The Cape hare (''Lepus capensis''), also called the brown hare and the desert hare, is a hare native to Africa and Arabia extending into India. Taxonomy The Cape hare was one of the many mammal species originally described by Carl Linnaeus ...
(''Lepus capensis''), but also hunting greater hoopoe lark (''Alaemon alaudipes''),
desert monitor The desert monitor (''Varanus griseus'') is a species of monitor lizard of the order Squamata found living throughout North Africa and Central and South Asia. The desert monitor is carnivorous, feeding on a wide range of vertebrates and invert ...
(''Varanus griseus''), sandfish (''
Scincus scincus ''Scincus scincus'', also commonly known as the sandfish skink, common sandfish or common skink, is a species of skink notable for its burrowing or swimming behaviour in sand. It is native to the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Peninsula, but is ...
'') and venomous ''Cerastes'' vipers. If they caught more than they could eat, they buried the remains for later consumption. They satisfied their moisture requirements from their prey but drank water if it was available. The
Toubou people The Toubou or Tubu (from Old Tebu, meaning "rock people") are an ethnic group native to the Tibesti Mountains that inhabit the central Sahara in northern Chad, southern Libya and northeastern Niger. They live either as herders and nomads or ...
have reported incidents of sand cats coming to their camps at night and drinking fresh
camel milk Camel milk has supported nomad and pastoral cultures since the domestication of camels millennia ago. Herders may for periods survive solely on the milk when taking the camels on long distances to graze in desert and arid environments, especially ...
. In Israel, remains of Egyptian spiny-tailed lizards (''
Uromastyx aegyptia ''Uromastyx aegyptia'' is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to North Africa and the Middle East. Common names Common names for ''U. aegyptia'' include Egyptian mastigure, Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard, and, when ...
'') were found near burrows used by sand cats. They were observed preying on jirds (''Meriones''), Cairo spiny mouse (''Acomys cahirinus''),
desert lark The desert lark (''Ammomanes deserti'') breeds in deserts and semi-deserts from Morocco to western India. It has a very wide distribution and faces no obvious threats, and surveys have shown that it is slowly increasing in numbers as it expands ...
(''Ammomanes deserti'') and small reptiles. In central Iran, remains of Blanford's jerboa (''Jaculus blanfordi'') and
Balochistan gerbil The Balochistan gerbil or dwarf gerbil (''Gerbillus nanus''), is distributed mainly from Morocco across north Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, and western Asia. This is a common species with a wide distribution which faces no obvio ...
(''Gerbillus nanus'') were the most frequent prey species found around dens of sand cats. Sand cats were collected in eastern Karakum Desert in the late 1950s. Their feces and
stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...
s contained remains of
tolai hare The tolai hare (''Lepus tolai'') is a species of hare native to Central Asia, Mongolia, and Northern and Central China. It inhabits semi-desert, steppes, rocky habitats, and forest meadows. It is relatively common, even in areas with heavy hu ...
(''Lepus tolai''), small rodents, birds, small reptiles and
invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s. In March 2018, a sand cat was recorded feeding on a
MacQueen's bustard MacQueen's bustard (''Chlamydotis macqueenii'') is a large bird in the bustard family. It is native to the desert and steppe regions of Asia, west from the Sinai Peninsula extending across Kazakhstan east to Mongolia. In the 19th century, vagrant ...
(''Chlamydotis macqueenii'') in the Kyzylkum Desert.


Reproduction and life cycle

Oestrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous ...
in female sand cats lasts from five to six days, during which they frequently call and scent mark. After a
gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...
of 59 to 66 days, they give birth to a litter of two to three kittens. The kittens weigh at birth, and have spotted pale yellow or reddish fur. They grow relatively rapidly, reaching three quarters of the adult size within five months, are fully independent by the end of their first year and reach sexual maturity soon after the first year. In some areas, sand cats give birth to two litters per year. Of 228 sand cats born in zoos globally by 2007, only 61% of the kittens lived to day 30. They died primarily due to maternal neglect by first-time mothers. Otherwise, they can live up to 13 years in captivity. The life expectancy of wild sand cats has not been documented. The generation length of the sand cat is about 4 years and 9 months.


Threats

Habitat degradation Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
and loss of sand dunes due to human activities are considered major threats to sand cat populations in
Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
, where uncontrolled hunting and persecution of predators using poisoned baits are common practices. The sand cat's small-mammal prey-base depends on having adequate vegetation, which may experience large fluctuations due to
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
or declines due to
desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...
and loss of natural vegetation. Fencing of protected areas threatens the sand cat in Saudi Arabia, where several individuals were found stuck in fences. In Iran, vulnerable arid ecosystems are being rapidly degraded by human settlement and activity, especially livestock grazing. In Uzbekistan, drifting sand areas are increasing, as local people uproot shrubs for use as firewood and as a substrate for silk worm (''
Bombyx mori The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...
'') cocoons. In the Sahara, sand cats have been killed in traps laid out by inhabitants of oases targeting
fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
es and
golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy y ...
s (''Canis aureus'') or in retaliation for killing
poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...
. Several cases of sand cats having been killed by domestic
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
s (''C. familiaris'') were reported in Israel and Iran. In Israel, the sand cat was thought to be threatened by
predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
from
caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...
s (''Caracal caracal'') and
wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
(''Canis lupus''). Sand cats have also been caught for the
pet trade Wildlife trade refers to the of products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, ti ...
in the United Arab Emirates and in Iraq. In
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
, two sand cats were presented to a local nursery in 2012 that had been sold as pets; they died a week later. In 2014 and 2015, four sand cats were trapped alive by local truffle collectors and offered for sale in a wildlife market in Bagdad; their fate is unknown. Sand cats may be at risk of transfer of diseases from domestic and
feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...
s encroaching desert areas. In Saudi Arabia, one of 17 wild-caught sand cats was tested positive for feline leukaemia virus.


Conservation

''Felis margarita'' is listed on
CITES Appendix II CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
. Hunting is prohibited in Algeria, Iran, Israel,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, and Tunisia. No legal protection exists in Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Previously having been classified as
near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...
, it has been downlisted to
least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
in 2016, as the estimated size of the global population exceeds the threshold for a threatened category; the extent of decline of the global population is unknown. The
Jerusalem Biblical Zoo The Tisch Family Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem ( he, גן החיות התנ"כי בירושלים על שם משפחת טיש, ar, حديقة الحيوان الكتابية في أورشليم القدس '), popularly known as the Jerusalem Bibl ...
started a sand cat reintroduction project in Israel's Arabah Desert. Several captive-born individuals from the zoo's population were kept in an acclimatization enclosure, but did not survive subsequent release into the wild.


In captivity

Since the mid 1960s, sand cats were captured in Pakistan for trade and export to Europe until the Pakistani government rejected issuing permits in 1974. Captive sand cats are highly sensitive to respiratory diseases and infection of the upper
respiratory tract The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of respiration in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory mucosa. Air is breathed in through the nose to th ...
. This is the main cause of death in adults. The most common disease is infectious rhinotracheitis. With sand cats being very susceptible to
respiratory The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies grea ...
infections, they have to be kept in very arid enclosures, where humidity and temperature do not fluctuate. The captive population kept in the
European Endangered Species Programme The EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP) is a population management and conservation programme by European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) for wild animals living in European zoos. The programme was formerly known as the European Endangered Species ...
is offspring of 18 founders that originated almost exclusively on the Arabian Peninsula. Until December 2009, the global captive population comprised 200 individuals in 45 institutions, including 23 European zoos with 102 individuals. The captive population within the
Species Survival Plan The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the (American) Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the wi ...
for sand cat is based on eight founders. In 2010, two sand cat kittens were born at the
Al Ain Zoo Al Ain Zoo ( ar, حَدِيْقَة ٱلْحَيْوَانَات بِٱلْعَيْن, Ḥadīqat Ḥaywānāt Bil-ʿAyn), also "Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort" or simply "Al Ain Wildlife Park" ( ar, مُتَنَزَّه ٱلْعَيْن لِلْح ...
after the first procedure of
in vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...
and
transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...
of frozen-thawed
embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...
s into the
oviduct The oviduct in mammals, is the passageway from an ovary. In human females this is more usually known as the Fallopian tube or uterine tube. The eggs travel along the oviduct. These eggs will either be fertilized by spermatozoa to become a zygote, o ...
s of ovulating females. In July 2012, four sand cat kittens were born at the Ramat Gan Zoo as part of the European Endangered Species Programme.


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:cat, sand
sand cat The sand cat (''Felis margarita'') is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a ...
Felids of Africa Felids of Asia Desert fauna
sand cat The sand cat (''Felis margarita'') is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a ...
Taxa named by Victor Loche