That honorific belongs to the sand cat
(Felis margarita), a small, elusive member of the feline family. It lives in the hot deserts of Africa, southwest and central Asia, and hunts primarily at night so little is know about the species, until European researchers made a concerted effort to know more about this cat. Fortunately it is not endangered and of least concern on the IUCN's list, but that might change after the latest research is evaluated.
The cat is superbly adapted to the blazing hot sands of the Sahara. It's stripped yellow coat blends in with he dunes and its paws are equipped with thick, black fur between their toes that allow it to travel without leaving paw prints. Drinking water rarely, the small feline relies on the moisture contained in its prey, primarily rodents. Sand cats only weigh about 6 pounds, allowing them to hide under bushes to escape the scorching sun or pursue prey. [photo credit: A. Silwa]. Acute hearing allows it to hear the faint scratchings of burrowing prey and curious scientists up to 600 feet away.
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| a lesser jerboa, a favorite prey animal |
Given their small size and elusive natures, sand cats were not categorized by science until 1858. Their range is based on rare sightings, scant camera trap recordings, and informed speculation. Two persistent and resourceful scientists, Alexander Silwa and Gregory Breton, found three sand cats in southern Morocco, motivating them to apply to the Moroccan government for permission to study the species more systematically. They overcame early difficulties to track the animals, repeatedly losing track of collared cats, eventually realizing that the range of their GPS equipment was 12 miles, while the cats' home ranges were huge. Home ranges for males can extend to over 120 square miles; for females its 100 square miles. They do not appear to be particularly territorial, tolerating others, even aggregating if conditions are right. One piece of data from the research stands out: sand cats are more rare than previously thought.
The researchers think that IUCN status should be upgraded to "vulnerable" based on what they found in the field. Their research has provided the most comprehensive morphological and ecological data available on Felis margarita. As more research is done, science will be better able to assess its population status. Better GPS equipment for such small subjects will aid in new research. The more science knows about the "desert king", the more they will know about deserts and how they are changing as the world warms.
