Animal Fact Sheet
SAND CAT
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Felis
Species: margarita
Male: tom
Female: queen
Young: kitten, cub
Group: colony or
destruction
Credit: Zoo Staff
Description:
The sand cat resembles a domestic cat however it has a stockier body
and shorter legs. Their fur is a sandy color with a dark tinge on the
back and slightly darker striping. The underparts, bottoms of legs and
most of the face are a pale beige or white. The tail and legs are marked
with dark bars. They have a wide, flat face and large ears, which are
positioned low on the head.
Size:
They are 16 to 22 inches in length and have a tail 10-14 inches long.
They weigh between 4 and 6 pounds.
Life Span:
They live about 8 years in captivity.
Diet:
Sand cats eat mainly small rodents and reptiles. They are capable of
catching venomous snakes. Sand cats can live far from water sources
since they can get needed moisture from their prey.
Geographic
Range:
Habitat:
They are found throughout north Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the
deserts of southwest Asia including northern Iran. Southern
Afghanistan, Baluchistan and deserts west of the Caspian sea.
They prefer sandy deserts where they can burrow easily, but they
Reproduction:
Special
Adaptations:
sometimes live in rocky country. They can tolerate wide extremes of
temperatures (their southern range daytime temperatures can be 30 –
135 degrees F and in the north can go as low as –15 degrees F)
Mating occurs between March and April. After a gestation period of
about 2 months, the female gives birth to 2 to 4 kittens in a burrow or
rock crevice. They are born with dark markings that fade as they get
older. At 5 weeks old, the kittens can eat solid food. They are fully
independent after 3 or 4 months.
Their ears are large so they can pick up the slightest noises of their
prey. Large ear size also assists with cooling the body and is a common
adaptation found on smaller desert dwelling mammals. The ears are
also set low to help them hide when crouching behind a rock. Their
short legs enable them to move close to the ground. They have fur on
the bottoms of their feet to help them grip dry, loose sand, and to
protect their feet from burning sand and rock.
Behavior:
Sand cats begin hunting at dusk and stalk their prey. They have a loud
mating call, which can be heard over long distances.
Current
Status:
The sand cat is an endangered species. The exact number is not
known.
Related
Species:
The wild cats, Chinese desert cat, jungle cat, Pallas’ cat, and blackfooted cat all share the same genus as the sand cat.
Where am I in
the Zoo:
Sand cats are located in the Main Zoo Building next to the black and
white lemurs.