Sand Cat
Sand cat is found in three separate areas of the globe, Sahara Desert of Africa and the countries of Algeria, Niger and Morocco; throughout the Arabian Peninsula; and parts of Central Asia as well as Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sand cats are naturally sand dwelling; occurring in very arid, dry habitats such as deserts. Sand kittens are found in desert habitats ranging from plain with little flora to rocky valleys with bushes and vegetation. They live in extreme environment with day after day face temperatures reaching up to 124ºC during daytime. While night time temperatures can dive as low as -0.5ºC.
Sand cats are a solitary species and not much is known of their mating systems. It is believed that their hearing plays an important part in communication during the mating season.
Resembling their name suggests, these cats are found in grimy deserts and their body is well modified to this habitat. The fur is colored pastel yellow to gray with darker bands, perfect for coming together into the surroundings. The coat of Sand cats is thick, so these cats are protected from cold night time temperatures.
Sand cats in captivity breed more than once a year. In the untamed their reproductive seasons are reliant on location. In the deserts of the Sahara, the reproductive season starts in January and ends in April. In Turkmenistan, the season begins for a while in April. In Pakistan’s Sand cat, the reproduction season lasts from September to October. In part, the dissimilarity might be due to environment or accessibility of resources. The development stage lasts, on average, 59-63 days. Sand cats give birth to between 1-8 kittens even if 4-5 Sand kittens are ordinary. Although sand cats are not sexually grown-up until 9-14 months, they are relatively self-sufficient at 6-8 months of age.
Normally these cats possess 2.1 to 3.4 kg for males and 1.4 to 3.1 kg for females that proves it is the smallest of all wild cats. The hearing and smelling senses of these cats is very powerful.
Being nocturnal animals, they rely on sensitive hearing to locate prey moving below the surface of the ground. Thick fur of average length covers the body and prevents it from the cruel night time temperatures. They have dark brown to black stripes covering the tail and limbs and the eyes are accented with reddish-orange stripes. The chest and chin are forever white. Another unique feature of Sand cat is the thin, black fur that covers the pads of their feet, protecting them from the desert's hot surfaces
Sand cats are not good climbers or jumpers, but they are outstanding diggers. They use their digging skill to dig shallow burrows to escape the heat of the desert during the day time. They are known to lie on their backs outside their burrows to discharge inner heat.
Many pictures of Sand cats are available at web-sites.
Sand Cat’s Fact
Sand cats have an exclusive technique of moving. With their belly to the ground, they move at a fast run episodic by irregular leaps. Despite their bizarre approach of moving, Sand cats can sprint up to 25 miles per hour.
