Sand cat is a beautiful desert cat ranging from Sahara in North Africa to the arid regions of Iran and Pakistan in West and South Asia. A little cat, it weighs nearly six pounds and is around one and a half to two feet long, excluding its one foot long tail.
Sand cat is a beautiful desert cat ranging from Sahara in North
Africa to the arid regions of Iran and Pakistan in West and South Asia.
A little cat, it weighs nearly six pounds and is around one and a half
to two feet long, excluding its one foot long tail.
Living in
some of the hottest places of the planet, Felix Margarita, the Sand Cat
is adapted to its lifestyle. Its thick fur protects it from cold desert
nights whereas the mesh of hair on the under-surface of paws shield it
from the scorching sand in day time. Color is sandy yellow with
irregular black bars on torso, legs and tail. Face is broad and ears
are long and pointed - enabling it to hear over long distances in the
vast expanses of deserts. Reddish markings run along the side of eyes
and back of ears. Chin and throat are white. Claws are usually blunt
owing to dearth of places in the desert for their sharpening.
A
solitary feline, the Sand Cat is primarily a nocturnal hunter. It
spends the day hiding in burrows, beneath rocks and bush. At night it
uses its sensitive ears and great digging skills to take down a variety
of prey from above and beneath the ground - including gerbil, jerboas,
insects, birds and even venomous desert snakes. It frequently hides the
prey beneath sand to return and feed later.
Sand Cat is divided into a number of subspecies according to its geographical distribution as shown by the map:
Felix Margarita Margarita (North Africa)
Felix Margarita Harrisoni (Arabia)
Felix Margarita Thinobia (Iran)
Felix Margarita Scheffeli (Pakistan)
An
elusive animal, the sand cat is difficult to track in the wild. It does
not necessarily visit water holes since it fulfills all water
requirements from the consumption of prey. It leaves no tracks in sand
and remains hidden for most of the day. Males and females only come
together in mating season. The cat produces a somewhat loud barking
sound that enables communication over long distances in the desert.
Usually two litter are born every year after a pregnancy lasting nearly
two months, with four to five kittens being the average on each
occasion. The young mature fast, being weaned off at a month and a half
and gaining independence at around four months.
Owing to its
reclusive lifestyle and certain religious beliefs that make the sand
cat revered in many areas of its habitat , it is not extensively
persecuted - allowing it to remain in healthy numbers in the wild -
though it is still collected for pet trade and hunted for sport!
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Tags: arabia felix, arid regions, burrows, cold desert, dearth, desert cat, desert nights, geographical distribution, long distances, margarita margarita, nocturnal hunter, north africa, sand cat, sensitive ears, south asia, subspecies, thick fur, time color, water holes, water requirements
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