How can we help sand cats?
In order to figure out how to help sand cats you have to know what the threats are to the survival in the wild of this small wild cat. These are listed on the IUCN Red List website but sadly … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Sand cat
How do sand cats survive in the desert?
We know that the sand cat is confined to areas of sandy desert. It is the only true desert cat. In the Sahara the typical sound cat habitat is flat and open covered with unstable sand out of which grows … Continue reading →
Can Sand Cats Kill Snakes?
Yes, sand cats kill snakes very efficiently even if they are venomous. In some areas of the sand cat’s distribution reptiles play an important role in the cat’s diet. For example the nomads of the Sahara desert in North Africa … Continue reading →
Sand Cat Burrow
The sand cat is called ‘the cat that digs holes’ by Saharan nomads. I think uniquely, this cat makes its home exclusively in burrows. The sand cat is the only true desert cat. It either occupies an abandoned (or even … Continue reading →
How much do sand cats eat?
There is an astonishing story about a sand cat eating a prodigious amount of food which answers the question. A professor whose name is H. Mendelssohn working at Tel-Aviv University (the sand cat is found in Israel) wanted to find … Continue reading →
What are sand cats’ enemies?
Sand cats have few large terrestrial predators to fear. Sub-adult sand cats are sometimes killed by eagle owls and in some areas of their range golden eagles, jackals and wolves occasionally kill adult sand cats. Aside from these predators the … Continue reading →
Why do sand cats have big ears?
Big ears tell us that the sand cat relies heavily on sound, and possibly picking up vibrations in the ground, to detect prey. The sand cat has huge ears (the ear flaps or ear pinnae). This small wild cat also … Continue reading →
Do sand cats purr?
Rashed Al Qamzi, who I believe is a supervisor at Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort (believed to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), says that sand cats do purr but in a slightly different and more subtle way to domestic … Continue reading →
Do sand cats make good pets?
On the internet people ask if sand cats make good pets. The same question applies to other small wild cats. There are a lot of people who fancy the idea of having a small wild cat as a pet because … Continue reading →
Why are sand cats endangered animals?
Officially sand cats are not endangered. So there! The IUCN Red List categorise this small wild cat as Least Concern. This is the most positive classification under the Red List scheme. The classification has improved from Near Threatened in 2011. … Continue reading →