Sand Cat
Felis margarita
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Sand Cat Felis margarita |
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The sand cat is one of the smallest of all the wildcat species. Its size and weight are about those of a domestic cat- males measure up to 57cm in length and weigh only 3kg. Coat color varies from grey to sandy yellow and is marked irregularly with indistinct stripy markings - the legs are often banded with horizontal dark stripes. The chin and throat of the cat are white.
The cat's body is well adapted to the environmental extremes. The medium-length fur serves as insulation against the great temperature declines during the nights. The extra long hair on the feet and pads protects them from the unbearable heat of the desert surface and assures an additional support for moving across the soft, shifting sands. There is one more "device" , designed to characterize the species as well as to help it in its severe environment: the large and sensitive triangular ears. Sound does not travel well across vast expanses of sandy terrain. It is believed that the cat's enlarged auditory bulla (part of the inner ear) and over sized pinnae (ear flaps) aid it in hearing the movements of its common prey both above and below ground. The sand cat's acute hearing also plays an important role in communication between male and female prior to mating and in establishing territoriality. The male cat uses a particularly loud barking to advertise its position across large expanses of desert terrain.
The sand cat is a solitary crepuscular hunter. Its night searches are easily explained: the animal sleeps during extreme heat of the day under rough scrub vegetation, in shallow burrow or in a hollow in between rocks or sandy boulders. At dusk it becomes active and moves away from its den in search of prey. The sand cat's diet comprises of small rodents (gerbil and jerboas), insects, reptiles (including venomous snakes) and birds. The animal is used to caching larger prey under loose sand and returning later to feed on the carcass. It is probable that as well as taking prey on the surface, sand cats may also use there strong fore limbs to dig into the burrows of certain species of diurnal gerbil.
The sand cat, similarly to the Black-footed cat in Africa, is used to living in arid regions without drinking water. It obtains all the fluid needed from its prey.
The cat's litter size varies between 1-8 kittens (4-5 kittens on the average) which are born after a gestation period of about 62 days. They develop rapidly and reach maturity at about 14 months of age, thus becoming independent at a relatively early age. Sand cats live up to about 13 years of age.
There are certain problems computing the sand cat's population. It is quite possible that there are many more sand cats than current estimates show. However, the three subspecies found in parts of its range excluding Pakistan have been classified as Least Concern in the Red List of Endangered Species. Scheffeli, the Pakistan sand cat is now listed as Near Threatened.