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Felis margarita
– Near Threatened
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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CARNIVORA
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Family:
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FELIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Felis margarita
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Species Authority:
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Loche, 1858
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Infra-specific Taxa Assessed:
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See Felis margarita ssp. scheffeli
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Common Name/s:
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SAND CAT (Eng)
SAND DUNE CAT (Eng)
CHAT DES SABLES (Fre)
GATO DE LAS ARENAS (Spa)
GATO DEL SAHARA (Spa)
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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NT ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2002
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Assessor/s:
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Cat Specialist Group
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Evaluator/s:
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Nowell, K., Breitenmoser, U., Breitenmoser, C. & Jackson, P. (Cat Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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Based on estimates of density and geographic range (Nowell and Jackson 1996), the sand cat’s total effective population size is estimated at below 50,000 mature breeding individuals, with a declining trend due to degradation of its habitat and prey base, and may possibly qualify as Vulnerable if these trends persist, or if better information on its status and range were available.
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History:
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| 1994 | - | Insufficiently Known (Groombridge 1994) |
| 1996 | - | Lower Risk/least concern (Baillie and Groombridge 1996) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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The sand cat has a wide but apparently disjunct distribution through the deserts of north Africa and southwest Asia. It is known from the central part of the Sahara, in Algeria and surrounding countries, but apparently absent further west, until the eastern coastal region of Egypt. It is also known from the Arabian peninsula, and the deserts of Central Asia (Uzbekistan and surrounding countries). It is not known if the small populations of sand cats in Pakistan’s Balochistan province are connected to the central Asian population via Afghanistan.
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Countries:
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Native:
Algeria; Chad; Egypt; Israel; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Morocco; Niger; Oman; Pakistan; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Turkmenistan; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan; Yemen
Uncertain presence and origin:
Afghanistan; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Mali; Mauritania; Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; Western Sahara
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Population
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Population:
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While sand cats are locally common in some areas, there are no recent records from large areas of their presumed range (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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Sand cats are found in both sandy and stony desert. They have been collected from sandy plain areas, and from rocky valley areas with scattered shrubs and trees. Sand cats probably prey primarily on small rodents, but also birds, reptiles and arthropods. The sand cat is well adapted to the extremes of a desert environment, living in areas far from water, and tolerant of extremes of hot and cold temperatures (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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System:
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Terrestrial
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List of Habitats:
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Threats
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Threats:
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Although deserts are spreading through human-induced "desertification," this trend does not necessarily benefit wildlife if the environment becomes too degraded to support it. Like prey and predator populations in the cold boreal forests, desert-dwelling sand cats and their prey also suffer severe periodic population declines (M. Sunquist pers. comm.).
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List of Threats:
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| 1 | Habitat Loss/Degradation (human induced) (ongoing) |
| 8.3 | Changes in native species dynamics - Prey/food base (ongoing) |
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Included on CITES Appendix II. Hunting of this species is prohibited in Algeria, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan and Tunisia (Nowell and Jackson 1996).
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List of Conservation Actions:
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| 1.2.1.1 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - International level (in place) |
| 1.2.1.2 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - National level (in place) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Cat Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. IUCN. 2002. 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 8 October 2002. Nowell, K. and Jackson, P. (compilers and editors) 1996. Wild Cats. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. (online version)
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