Member Photos: Arabian Sand Cat

Many of our ISEC Canada members are keen photographers, and include both amateur and professional photogs. We are always happy to showcase wild cat photos on this blog, so if you have any pictures you would like to brag about, please email them to our office at smallwildcats@gmail.com.

Ben Williams in the United Kingdom has sent us more wild cat photos. This week we’re featuring the adorable Sand Cat, photographed at Marwell Wildlife Park in Hampshire, UK.

The endearing little sand cats are a clear favorite with our members! The only wild cat to be found in true desert habitat, sand cats are found in North Africa, the Middle East and possibly Central Asia. Living in the hot desert sands, their feet are densely covered with fur for traction and insulation on loose, hot sand. True desert specialists, sand cats are not found in vegetated valleys but prefer sandy and stony desert and arid shrub-covered steppes.

Their habitat is so remote that they are somewhat insulated from human activities (at least in Africa) and their population size is unknown. Threats include the expansion of cultivation, and feral domestic cats and dogs which result in predation, competition for food and diseases.