A comparative study of the range and habitat use of the sand cat (Felis margarita) in degraded and protected rangelands of Saudi Arabia

By Maartin Strauss, Dr. Mohammed Shobrak and Moayyad Sher Shah

This photo is from the first phase of this project and is copyrighted.
-- O. Couppey/NCWCD-NWRC Photo Library

WAC has completely funded this project = $4373.00.

Project Summary

-- Cited references removed with permission of author, for space.

The sand cat Felis margarita harrisoni is the smallest member of the Felidae found in Arabia, and although sand cats are found from North Africa, through Arabia and into Central Asia little information is available on these elusive animals. The sand cat is considered to be "Near Threatened" by the IUCN, with the proviso that it could qualify as "Vulnerable" if better information were available.
An extensive literature search has yielded virtually no scientific publications on the ecology of the species, with the exception of a single study done in Israel, a recent status report from the UAE, and the recent confirmation of the species' presence in the eastern desert of Jordan. Despite the general paucity of information on the ecology of this felid it has frequently been suggested that the preferred habitats of the animals are not being lost or that desertification is actually benefiting the species.
However, it has recently been indicated that much of the Arab world, including North Africa, is subject to rangeland degradation with about 94% of the rangelands being affected by desertification. Due to the expected relationship between primary productivity and small mammal biomass (an important food source of the sand cat) it cannot be unequivocally stated that desertification and rangeland degradation benefits the sand cat. Moreover, it is known that one of the consequences of desertification is the loss of biodiversity due to the destruction of habitats and micro-organisms. A more likely scenario might be that there is a degradation threshold below which conditions would no longer be suitable for the continued survival of a variety of plants and animals, including the sand cat. Consequently there is a need to establish the effect that rangeland degradation has on sand cat populations.

November 28, 2006

--from Maartin Strauss
"News from here is that we have successfully collared five sand cats – three in the degraded and two in the protected habitat - to date. Delays in capturing more cats have been due to conflicting priorities but trapping will commence again towards the end of December 2006. It is envisaged that all trapping will be completed during February 2007."

If you would like more information, you may directly contact Dr. Mohammed Shobrak, the Director of the NWRC.

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