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Home Big Cat Facts

Sand Cat Facts

BCR by BCR
March 15, 2015
in Big Cat Facts
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Sand Cat

http://bigcatrescue.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Species-Sandcat.mp3

 

Common Name: Sand Cat
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata (Vertebrata)
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Felinae (Felis)
Species: margarita
Misc: This is one of the more difficult cats to study in the wild. Their foot coverings allow them to walk on sand without sinking, leaving their footprints nearly invisible.  They have learned to crouch down and shut their eyes when a light is shone on them, which prevents the light from reflecting their eyes for tracking. That combined with their protective coat color makes them blend right into their habitat. They also bury all of their excrement making it impossible to find and analyze so their diet can be studied.

Subspecies: F.m margarita – The Sahara
F.m. thinobia – Turkestan
F.m. scheffeli – Pakistan
F.m. harrisoni – Arabia, Jordan (Pictured on both pages)

Size and Appearance: Sand Cats weigh in at 4-8 pounds and reach lengths of 29-36 inches, and heights of 10-12 inches. It has a dense soft fur that is a pale sand or gray color above and paler underneath. It has large ears and a broad head, and a reddish streak that runs from its eyes across its cheeks. The ears are reddish-brown and black-tipped. There are faint stripes running down the flanks and black bands running around the tops of the front legs. The tail has 2-3 black rings towards its black tip. The feet are covered with a thick layer of wiry black hair, which insulates the footpads against extremes of heat and cold, and allows for easier movement through the sand. They are prolific diggers, and their claws are not very sharp for lack of places to sharpen them in the desert.

Habitat: Sandy and stony deserts.

Distribution: From the Sahara through the Middle East to Turkestan.

Reproduction and Offspring: These cats have been reported to have 2 litters per year in parts of their territory in both March-April, and again in October. Gestation is 59-63 days, after which females produce a litter of 2-4 kittens. At birth, the newborns weigh approximately 1.5-2 ounces, and will gain about 12 grams per day. Their eyes will normally be open by the 14th day, and they will begin to walk by the 21st day. They begin to take solid food at 5 weeks and become independent by 3-4 months. They reach sexual maturity around 10-12 months.

In captivity, they have lived up to 13 years, but have a high juvenile mortality rate (41%).

Social System and Communication: Solitary.

Because their populations are so few, they have a loud mating call, which resembles the barking of a small dog. Their other vocalizations include meowing, growling, hissing, spitting, screaming and purring. Hear our purrs, hisses, snarls, calls, and growl sounds HERE

SandCat.jpg (115839 bytes)Hunting and Diet: Primarily nocturnal, they hunt by digging. Their highly developed hearing allows the to locate prey which is not only sparsely distributed, but underground as well. Their primary diet consists of 3 species of gerbils. It also includes birds, reptiles and arthropods. They are also known for being snake hunters, which they kill with a rapid blow to the head that stuns, and then administer the death bite to the neck. Sand Cats will also cover large kills with sand and return later to feed.

Principal Threats: Habitat degradation is the major threat to the sand cat. Vulnerable arid ecosystems are being rapidly degraded by human settlement and activity, especially livestock grazing (Allan and Warren 1993, Al-Sharhan et al. 2003). The sand cat’s small mammal prey base depends on having adequate vegetation, and may experience large fluctuations due to drought (Sunquist and Sunquist 2002), or declines due to desertification and loss of natural vegetation.

Other localized threats include the introduction of feral and domestic dogs and cats, creating direct competition and through predation and disease transmission (Nowell and Jackson 1996). They also may be killed in traps laid out by inhabitants of oases targeting foxes and jackals or in retaliation for killing their chickens (De Smet 1989; Dragesco-Joffé 1993). There are occasional reports of animals shot in south-east Arabia (M. Strauss pers. comm.)

Status: CITES: Appendix II (except F.m. scheffeli which is on Appendix I). IUCN: Insufficiently known (F.m. scheffeli is classified Endangered).

Felid TAG recommendation: Sand cat (Felis margarita). Sand cats have a long history of living in North American zoos, but have been poorly managed. Two populations exist, one that is hybridized and another derived from an Israeli population. The TAG recommends an SSP with a target population of 80 individuals, all to consist of F. m. harrisoni, the race from the Arabian peninsula. The American SSP and European EEP have joined forces in their breeding plans as neither continent has enough diversity to sustain their populations.

How rare is this cat? The International Species Information Service lists 116 worldwide, with 36 being in the U.S.

Information reprinted With Permission from the IUCN Wild Cats Book.

 

 

Meet our sand cat friends:

http://bigcatrescue.org/catbio/

 

 

Tags: sandcat
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  • Default Comments (21)

21 responses to “Sand Cat Facts”

  1. Andrew Colin Long says:
    September 22, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    teeee-riffick!

    Reply
  2. Talia Jones says:
    May 4, 2013 at 12:03 am

    I'm doing a report and this is some good information.

    Reply
  3. Trinity White says:
    May 13, 2013 at 1:36 pm

    this was great for my project thanks.

    Reply
  4. Niamh Mcewan says:
    May 14, 2013 at 7:02 pm

    good sand cat information I'm doing a project on the sand cat I scince.

    Reply
  5. Rinn Daggra says:
    May 14, 2013 at 8:55 pm

    whao I knew sand cats exsited but now there my fav. I have a sand cat named seia sand.

    Reply
  6. Sarka Highhouse says:
    July 29, 2013 at 10:12 pm

    Can I adopt them.

    Reply
    • Seren says:
      February 10, 2021 at 5:40 am

      no

      Reply
  7. Susie Bowler says:
    August 16, 2013 at 6:17 pm

    Sand cats are for real.

    Reply
  8. Susie Bowler says:
    August 16, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    I am so pleased to have been introduced to these little beauties,just goes to show ,you can learn something new everyday.

    Reply
  9. Sasi Langford says:
    August 16, 2013 at 8:40 pm

    Well I just have! Aren't they lovely?

    Reply
  10. Aid Selam says:
    February 20, 2014 at 1:00 am

    I love this animal ther are so cute and fun to learn about

    Reply
  11. Peggy Oliver says:
    March 18, 2014 at 1:24 am

    My cat almost meets all those things. She don't weigh much.

    Reply
  12. Emina Catovic says:
    June 4, 2014 at 7:53 pm

    sand cats r awsome i adopeted 1

    Reply
  13. Midnight Flash says:
    July 4, 2014 at 4:55 pm

    Wickedly cool… 😉

    Reply
  14. Michelle Headlam says:
    August 6, 2014 at 10:46 am

    Beautiful★

    Reply
  15. gato_feliz says:
    November 19, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    Hey i loved your report about sand cats. I was looking for what sounds they made and the link doesn’t work. Can you fix it please? thanks!

    Reply
  16. Presley says:
    February 18, 2021 at 1:16 pm

    Looop cute

    Reply
  17. Christine says:
    April 7, 2022 at 10:49 pm

    In the last part, we’re you saying “ How rare is this cat? The International Species Information Service lists 116 worldwide, with 36 being in the U.S.” Where it says 116, is this saying that this is the number – That there 116 Sand Cats worldwide. Or that 116 is the number of Sand Cats in captivity? Or are they saying that 116 is their ranking on the list?”

    Reply
  18. Hicham Manseur says:
    August 30, 2022 at 4:23 pm

    Noone believes that it’s not allowed to kill sand cats because it was a companion of Prophet Muhammed Peace be upon him, there no mention in Quran or Sunnah or Sirah (Biography) books that Muhammed Peace be upon him had a sand cat as a companion, instead, he talked about cats in general when he said PBUH: “It is not unclean, but is one of those who intermingle with you.” and He said also that “A woman was punished (in the afterlife) because of a cat. She had neither provided her with food nor drink, nor set her free so that she might eat the vermin of the earth.” Besides, we know a Companion of Prophet Muhammed Peace be upon known as Abu Hurairah (literally: “Father of the Kitten”) for his attachment to cats.

    Reply
  19. Jacklyn D Swanson says:
    October 9, 2022 at 4:39 pm

    There are some of these roaming in the new mexico deserts. My friends cat got impregnated by one. I have a half domestic half sand kitty cat and he is such a sweetheart with a unique meow

    Reply
  20. Angel says:
    February 14, 2023 at 9:16 am

    sand cats are for real

    Reply

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