A YouTube Video Helped Scientists Find Sand Cats Living in Libya

Sometimes a big discovery starts with a small video. In 2017, a wildlife photographer named Mohammad Almuntasir shared a clip of a sand cat curled up under a desert plant. The cat looked calm and at home. There was just one problem. He filmed it in Libya, a place where scientists did not think sand cats lived.

When he posted the video, almost no one believed him. People said the cat could not be there. But Almuntasir knew what he saw. He said the cats lived in several spots near his home, one only about 43 miles from the town of Zintan.

Meet the sand cat

The sand cat is a small wild cat with a pale, sandy coat. It is the only cat in the world built to live in the open desert. Its coat blends into the sand so well that it can be very hard to spot. Thick fur even grows under its paws to protect them from the hot ground. That perfect camouflage is one reason it stayed hidden from researchers for so long.

The desert hid these cats in another way too. Libya's deserts are harsh, and smuggling groups operate in some areas. Both things made it hard and dangerous for scientists to study the land.

How they found the cats

A researcher named Firas Hayder, from Sol Plaatje University in South Africa, saw the video and reached out to Almuntasir. Together they built a simple way to survey the area using GPS points and photographs.

Almuntasir then teamed up with local Tuareg communities, who know the desert well. He also asked friends to watch for the cats while they camped and traveled. These local eyes made all the difference. People who live in a place often see what visiting scientists miss.

What they found

The team confirmed the first records of sand cats in Libya. In one area alone, they counted 13 sightings. That spot may be a true stronghold for the species.

They also found another shy desert animal hiding nearby, the Saharan striped polecat. It turned up in eight new places, most of them outside the range scientists had mapped before.

A reason to act

The news was not all good. The team learned that both animals are sometimes caught and sold. Sand cats are taken as pets, and polecats are sold for traditional medicine. Because so little is known about these animals in Libya, the researchers are asking for fast, focused work to protect them. Their study appears in the Journal of Arid Environments.

One quiet video, shared by a man who trusted what he saw, helped put a hidden cat on the map. It is a good reminder that the people who live closest to wildlife are often the ones who help us understand it best.

Source: 2026 https://www.iflscience.com/youtube-video-leads-to-discovery-of-adorable-sand-cats-in-libya-where-they-had-not-been-known-to-live-before-83921

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