Humans have given many feline species various nicknames, some beautiful, some cool, some fun, such as the tiger being called 'Mountain God', the snow leopard called 'Snow Mountain Elf', the Canadian lynx called 'Bigfoot', the Iberian lynx called 'Tiger Cat', the cloud leopard called 'Tree Tiger', the desert cat called 'Desert Angel'...

Fig: Long-faced desert cat

Desert cat: The only desert species of the cat family, the little angel in the desert

Desert cats are also known as sand cats, mainly distributed in North Africa, West Asia and Central Asia deserts. They are the only cat species that live primarily in the desert. They are smaller than domestic cats, and their calls are similar to those of domestic cats. They have sandy-colored fur with black stripes on their limbs, small noses and mouths, and big, round eyes and faces like angels.

Fig: A 7-year-old desert cat, looking only one or two years old

Desert cats have long been accustomed to the unique climate conditions of the desert. They prefer to roam in dry, sparsely vegetated desert areas. 11 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees Celsius is the ideal activity temperature range for desert cats. If the temperature is too high, they will hide in the caves they dig into to rest, and then come out to hunt at dusk or night. Their pads have dense fur, which can effectively insulate against the heat of the sand.

Fig: A family of wild desert cats

It is worth mentioning that many people often confuse desert cats with desert foxes. Desert foxes are a unique wild cat species in China, distributed in the western regions of China.

Fig: Desert fox in western China, slightly larger than desert cats

Super drought tolerance: can go a month without drinking water

Animals that live in the desert for a long time have unique skills. The desert is the most lacking in water, so desert species usually have drought and drought tolerance. Desert cats are such, they can survive for up to a month without drinking water, and only obtain the water they need from their prey.

Fig: Desert cat catching mice

Desert cats often eat various small rodents such as jerboas and sand rats, and also hunt various small insects and birds, as well as lizards and snakes.

Don't look at them having an angelic face, they are actually excellent hunters. Once they encounter prey in the desert, they will lower themselves, stare at the prey with their eyes, move slowly, and then suddenly launch an attack at a speed of nearly 40 kilometers per hour to capture the prey. Snakes often lurk in the desert. Fortunately, desert cats are snake hunters.

It's too much like a pet, but it's not suitable for raising.

Seeing such beautiful desert cats, I'm sure many people want to raise them as pets. However, in this regard, there has been a precedent: desert cats are not suitable for raising as pets.

Fig: Let's agree that I don't like to be a pet

In the early 20th century, raising desert cats as pets was popular in Pakistan for a time. However, due to the differences between the captive environment and the wild environment, desert cats are easily prone to various respiratory diseases and die. In order to obtain such a cute 'pet', people had to continuously capture them from the wild, which led to the near extinction of desert cats in Pakistan.

Fig: Desert cats in zoos, the living environment should try to imitate the wild environment

In the captive environment, desert cats not only suffer from illness but also face problems with low breeding and low survival rate of cubs. Although many zoos now have advanced breeding facilities, desert cats still cannot reproduce due to their unsuitability for the environment. About 60% of desert cat cubs worldwide survive to 30 days, mainly because the female desert cats who gave birth for the first time are negligent.

​Fig: Desert cat distribution mapEven though desert cats are not suitable for raising, people still cannot stop them from capturing them and selling them on the black market. Human capture and habitat destruction are the main reasons for their near extinction.