The Sand cat (Felis margarita) is a small African wild cat. Not the
smallest as this is the closely related Blackfooted cat. Often is referred
to "desert cat" but this name is reserved for Felis silvestris lybica, or
the African wildcat, but it could be appropriate for this species. It
lives in those arid areas that are too hot and dry even for the desert
cat: the Sahara, the Arabian Desert, and the deserts of Iran and Pakistan.
Sand cats live solitarily, except for the mating season; see below,
digging burrows to escape the desert heat, and come out after dusk to hunt
rodents, lizards, birds and insects, although their diet may consist
mostly of rodents. They "skulk" close to the ground and will use any
available cover to protect themselves. Using their large ears they listen
for prey, digging rapidly when they hear it underground. Since the sand
cat obtains all the water it needs from eating its prey, it mostly stays
far away from watering points where other predators may harm it. Sand cats
congregate only for mating so numbering them is a difficult task. It seems
however that their numbers have been declining in the Arabian desert
following a rarefaction of their prey.
Threats to the Sand cat include humans, wolves, snakes, and rapors.
Although solitary animals, sand cats do not have their own territories
like most of the other cats, and may even "take turns" over burrows with
others. The Sand cat is listed by Cites as endangered, although IUCN only
lists it as near threatened as of 2001.
In very few zoos you can find Sand cats. In Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) and
the park specialised in wild cats, Le Parc des Félins, they have a very
succesful breeding programme.
The Sand cat's length average almost 50 cm, plus a 30 cm tail. The average
weight of a sand cat is 2,7 kg (6 lbs). Their heads are conspicuously
broad, and their ears are large, pointed, and widely spaced to the point
they can be flattened horizontally or even pointing down (while hunting).
The colour of the fur is a pale sandy yellow, with pallid bars, which are
sometimes hardly visible. Generally the bars are more visible in the
African subspecies. The mucosa of their eyelids is a striking black. Their
paws are covered with long hairs that allow it to tolerate and easily
manoeuver the hot sand of its environment. The Sand cat can survive in
extreme temperatures ranging from -5 C (23 F) to 52 C (126 F).
There are 6 subspecies of the Sand Cat.
- Felis margarita margarita, North Africa, from Algeria to Arabia
- Felis margarita airensis, Niger
- Felis margarita harrisoni, Arabian Peninsula
- Felis margarita meinertzhageni, Sahara
- Felis margarita thinobia, Caspian Sea area (Iran, Turkmenistan) e..
- Felis margarita scheffeli, Pakistan
