Sand Cat Habitat And Food
Wars and political strife harms the sand cat by harming its habitat.
Sand cat habitat and food. Arabian Sand Cat Distribution Habitat and Ecology. The sand cat of North Africa and the Middle East survives in a land with very little water by hunting at night and sleeping and keeping cool during the day. They are found near the patches of sparse vegetation that can support their prey species and the cats have special adaptations to survive in the extreme desert conditions.
Farmers shepherd dogs sometimes kill sand cats. The magnificent Arabian Sand Cat appears to have a widespread though disjointed distribution. Its 57 cm short ears are set low on the sides of the head aiding detection of prey moving underground.
Sand cats live in temperatures that sometimes rise to more than 40C 104F. The cats large ears help to provide it with excellent hearing. Their home range may be to up to 16km2 62mi2.
The sand cat is the only felid found primarily in true deserts. Sand cats are active during the night nocturnal animals to avoid high temperatures above 52 degrees of Celsius during the day. The Sand Cat primarily occupies sandy deserts but has also been recorded in stony and rocky deserts.
The sand cat hunts animals to eat prey at night when it is cooler. Vulnerable arid ecosystems are being rapidly degraded by human settlement and activity especially livestock grazing Allan and Warren 1993 Al-Sharhan et al. In North Africa the cat appears in numerous locations.
They like to inhabit flat terrain and keep away from dunes which provide little food. The long hair covering the. The IUCN Red List has standardised habitat types globally and there is only one primary habitat type.