Sand cat

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Sand cat
Sand cat (Felis m. Margarita)

Sand cat ( Felis m. Margarita )

Systematics
Order : Predators (Carnivora)
Subordination : Feline (Feliformia)
Family : Cats (Felidae)
Subfamily : Small cats (Felinae)
Genre : Real cats ( Felis )
Type : Sand cat
Scientific name
Felis Margarita
Loche , 1858

The sand cat ( Felis margarita ) or desert cat is a small wild cat that is adapted to life in extremely dry desert areas . The species name margarita goes back to the French naturalist Victor Loche , who named the cat he described in honor of Capitaine Jean-Auguste Margueritte (1823-1870), who was stationed around 1850 in French services in Algeria .

features

The fur color of the sand cats is similar to the desert sand, so that they are excellently camouflaged there. They are yellow to gray-brown and have a two or three times dark brown to black ringed tail, the black tip of the tail is a little more distinct, throat and chest are white. With a body length of about 45 to 55 centimeters, a tail length of 30 to 35 centimeters and a stick size of 25 to 30 centimeters, they are significantly smaller than the fallow ( Felis silvestris lybica ) or the house cat . They weigh 1,500 to 3,500 grams, have a broad, flattened head and large, well-set ears with long hairs that offer protection from penetrating sand. The forward-facing eyes are also quite large. A reddish-orange stripe runs from the eyes over the cheeks. The hairless tip of the nose is black. Barely visible, washed-out, vertical stripes run along the sides of the body. The front legs are banded slightly dark brown to black at the base, the paws are covered with dense, wiry and matted black tufts of hair that prevent direct contact with the hot desert sand and protect against the cold. So they sink in little and hardly leave any traces. This trait is unique in Palearctic cats. Their medium-length fur also protects against high day and low night temperatures. The claws are not very sharp and are usually not worn off much in desert areas.

Sand cats utter various noises, they murmur, growl, hiss, spit and purr. The life expectancy of animals living in the wild is not precisely documented, but is estimated to be around 8 to 10 years, whereas in captivity they can live up to 13 years.

Sand cats move in a crouched posture, their stomach almost touching the ground. During short sprints over a distance of up to 400 meters, they can reach a speed of 30 to 40 km / h. Sand cats, feeling threatened, will seek cover behind a rock or tuft of grass. They press their chins on the ground and lay their ears flat. Because of their coat color, they can hardly be made out.

Occurrence

Distribution map

Sand cats live in about 15 to 20 km² large, overlapping territories in four separate regions: in the Sahara (as subspecies Felis margarita margarita ), in Arabia ( Felis margarita harrisoni ), in Central Asia ( Felis margarita thinobia ) and in Pakistan ( Felis margarita scheffeli ). They generally inhabit sand and stone deserts that are too dry for black cats and steppe cats , especially those with sand dunes .

In its entire range, the sand cat has to cope with unusual temperature fluctuations. In the Karakum , the air temperature occasionally reaches more than 40 ° Celsius during the day, the upper sand layer is then 80 ° Celsius. In winter, however, the temperature can drop to -25 degrees. Sand cats retreat into their burrows at these extreme temperatures. The thick fur protects against the cold, the thick hair on the underside of the paws allows walking on hot sand.

behavior

Sand cats are nocturnal loners. They sleep through the hot hours of the day in a self-dug cave or in the shade of bushes or rocks. In Morocco, the "occupation" of desert raven groves in acacias several meters above the ground has also been observed. In the evening, when it's a little cooler, they often lie on their backs to cool off. The thick fur protects against chilling at low temperatures during the night. Sand cats cannot climb or jump well, but dig well.

Sand cat from Ree Park - Ebeltoft Safari in Denmark

They have learned to duck in the dark and close their eyes when they are lit with artificial light. Thus, the sand cat can hardly be located by the reflection of its eyes. Together with their fur color, which is similar to the desert sand, this represents a good adaptation to their surroundings. The excrement buried by the cat in the desert area is difficult to find for analysis purposes, which is why little is known about the composition of their menu.

Diet and hunting behavior

The sand cats are nocturnal loners that have been little explored. Like most cats, they are excellent at hearing, smelling and seeing well in the dark. With their hearing, they can spot prey under the surface of the sand. They often dig up their prey. If this is too big for a meal, part of it is buried again and visited again later. Due to the flattened skull shape with the ears set far outwards, the little cat can lie down so flat on the floor that it can no longer be seen behind small bumps in the floor. This gives her an advantage in the desolate desert landscape without vegetation, which gives little cover for hunting. She is an opportunistic hunter and hunts small rodents and birds , reptiles , insects and spiders . The range of prey includes gerbils and jerboa , mulled lemmings , birds and partridges , larks and thorn-tailed agamas . She also often hunts snakes , which she hits on the head before being killed with a neck bite. The sand cat also accepts eggs occasionally. Like many species of cats, it can eat a lot when there is plenty of food. As a rule, however, she only consumes about ten percent of her body weight in food. It probably derives its fluid requirements from the prey alone and does not have to drink extra. But where water is available, it also uses it.

Reproduction

Sand cat from Ree Park - Ebeltoft Safari in Denmark

Sand cats populate the barren landscape very thinly and have a loud, far-reaching mating call that is similar to the barking of a small domestic dog . They throw after a gestation period of about 60 to 65 days, depending on the subspecies (distribution area) somewhat delayed.

  • Felis margarita margarita from February to April,
  • Felis margarita harrisoni from March to April,
  • Felis margarita thinobia from mid-March to mid-May,
  • Felis margarita scheffeli from September to October.

A litter consists of an average of three to five young, the largest litter observed so far was eight young. These weigh 40 to 55 grams at birth, gain 12 grams a day and receive moisture from the mother during this time. At two weeks they open their eyes and at three weeks they start walking. They consume solid food from five weeks of life and can then cover their moisture requirements themselves. Up to the age of six to eight months they are introduced to the art of hunting by the mother animal, then they become independent and leave the family. Sand cats reach sexual maturity at around nine to thirteen months.

Of 228 sand cats born in zoos around the world in 2007, only 61% survived the first 30 days. They primarily died from rejection of first-time dams.

The generation length is given as around 4.75 years.

Enemies, threat and protection

In some regions, the sand cat's predators include jackals, golden eagles, caracals , wolves and feral domestic dogs. Due to their habitat, however, only a few predators chase them. What is striking about the sand cat is its low shyness; this is attributed to the low risk of predators.

It is not endangered by habitat destruction because it lives in inhospitable and inhumane desert regions and therefore rarely stands in the way of economic interests. According to Islamic lore, she was also said to have been a companion of Muhammad and his daughter, which is why they are rarely persecuted individually when they prey on small livestock. Nevertheless, the sand cats are endangered because they are increasingly falling victim to sport hunting . They were also hunted to obtain fur. This persecution is illegal in many regions.

Algeria, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan and Tunisia prohibit hunting. In Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, however, there is no explicit protection of the species

The IUCN estimates the population of the sand cat at less than 50,000 adults. Although the organization certifies that there is insufficient knowledge in almost all matters (population and its trend, way of life, exact distribution, predators, etc.) and the need to designate additional protected areas, it downgraded the species from “potentially endangered” to “not endangered” in 2016.

The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo started a project in 2013 to reintroduce the sand cat in the Arava Depression . Several individuals born in captivity were released into the wild after preparation in a release facility, but none of the animals survived.

In prison

Trapped sand cats are very susceptible to respiratory diseases. Cat flu is considered to be the leading cause of death in adults. To avoid the disease, the habitat set up in zoos must be extremely arid and must not be subject to any significant temperature fluctuations.

The population living in European zoos goes back to 18 original specimens. As of July 2009, the global captive sand cat population was 200 animals in 45 facilities. In January 2010, the Al Ain Zoo in Abu Dhabi announced the world's first birth of two sand cats after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer . In July 2012, as part of the European Endangered Species Program , four healthy kittens were born in the Ramat Gan Zoo near Tel-Aviv.

Sand cats and humans

Sand cats are sometimes also caught alive in order to sell them as pets . Young sand cats can get used to humans, but always remain wild animals with the urge for a larger radius of action. They can be socialized with house cats , but in conflict situations they tend to leave humans and withdraw into the wild.

Natural history

Cub

The French naturalist Victor Loche (1806–1863) took part in a military expedition to explore the province of Ouargla in the northern Sahara in 1855/56 . In doing so he discovered the sand cat, which he identified as previously unknown. Loche was impressed with the cat's abilities but was not aware of the existence of the four subspecies. The leader of the expedition was Capitaine Jean-Auguste Margueritte , an important French officer at the time with a very good knowledge of Arabic, but who had no connection with this type of cat. In his honor, Loche gave the sand cat the scientific name Felis margarita . In the years that followed, so few specimens were found and information about this species was so scarce that the Russian zoologist Sergei Ognew was convinced in 1926 that he had discovered not only a new species but even a new genus when he first discovered specimens from Turkmenistan received. He called her Eremailurus thinobius . It was only ten years later that it was discovered that he had described specimens of the sand cat.

Taxonomy

Some cat researchers, such as Theodor Haltorth (1910–1981) and Paul Leyhausen (1916–1998) are of the opinion that the Asian subspecies Felis margarita thinobia should be classified in a separate species, namely that of the barchan cat ( Felis thinobia ), due to certain skull features . The Asian and African forms are said to have developed independently of one another in adaptation to the extreme living conditions in the sandy desert . Today, however, the view is that both forms are only subspecies of the same species due to their younger descent .

literature

  • F. Russell Cole, Don E. Wilson: Felis margarita (Carnivora: Felidae) . In: Mammalian Species . tape 47 (924) , 2015, pp. 63-77 , doi : 10.1093 / mspecies / sev007 ( abstract ).
  • Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist: Wild Cats of the World . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2002, ISBN 0-226-77999-8

Web links

Commons : Felis margarita  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Single receipts

  1. a b c d Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist: Wild Cats of the World . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2002, p. 68
  2. Karen Sausman: Sand cat Felis margarita: a true desert species . In: International Zoo Yearbook . tape 35 , no. 1 , 1997, ISSN  1748-1090 , pp. 78–81 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1748-1090.1997.tb01193.x ( wiley.com [accessed April 25, 2019]).
  3. Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist: Wild Cats of the World . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2002, pp. 68 and 69.
  4. Sand Cats resting in bird nests built in tall acacia trees
  5. a b c Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist: Wild Cats of the World . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2002, p. 70
  6. Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist: Wild Cats of the World . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2002, p. 69
  7. a b Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist: Wild Cats of the World . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2002, p. 71
  8. ^ ScienceDirect. Retrieved April 25, 2019 .
  9. Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist: Wild Cats of the World . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2002, pp. 70 and 71
  10. Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist: Wild Cats of the World . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2002, p. 72
  11. CSG Species Accounts: Sand cat (Felis margarita). September 10, 2014, accessed April 25, 2019 .
  12. ^ The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved April 25, 2019 .
  13. Wayback Machine. May 12, 2013, accessed April 25, 2019 .
  14. Karen Sausman: Sand cat Felis margarita: a true desert species . In: International Zoo Yearbook . tape 35 , no. 1 , 1997, ISSN  1748-1090 , pp. 78–81 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1748-1090.1997.tb01193.x ( wiley.com [accessed April 25, 2019]).
  15. ^ ScienceDirect. Retrieved April 25, 2019 .
  16. Al Ain zoo has reason to purr after birth of two sand cats. Retrieved April 25, 2019 .
  17. ^ Rare Sand Kittens Born in Israel After Years of Rumored Extinction | ... January 26, 2013, accessed April 25, 2019 .