Video Of The Week — Gorgeous Sand Cat Kittens Seen In The Wild For The First Time
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In late September, Gregory Breton and his team were returning to their campsite after spending seven long hours scouting the hot, dusty, Moroccan Sahara for sand cats. Suddenly, just four kilometers away from their destination, they noticed three pairs of gleaming eyes. Upon getting closer, the researchers realized they had stumbled upon something that, to their knowledge, had never been encountered in the wild before – sand cat kittens!
Breton, who works with Panthera, a non-profit organization devoted to conserving the world’s 40 wild cat species and their ecosystems, says finding the felines is not easy. That’s because the stealthy animals that are most active at dusk, night, and dawn are extremely good at hiding and have the perfectly colored fur to help them blend in with their environment. The cats also leave behind no visible pugmarks or prey remains, making them extremely hard to track.
Though the kittens that the researchers found were too young for radio-collars, the team did manage to put a tracking device on an adult female sand cat, possibly the mother, that was also discovered in the area. Breton, who outlined the discovery in his blog, writes, "If we collect footage of her and follow her for a long period, we can gather data on the natural reproduction cycles and offspring dispersal of this species in the wild - all topics never before documented."

Though they may look frail, sand cats, which possess slightly broader faces and bigger ears than domestic cats, are hardy animals. Endemic to northern Africa, the Middle East and southwest and central Asia, the animals endure the desert’s wild temperature fluctuations by digging burrows in the sand or taking shelter beneath rocks and shrubs during the day. The adept hunters obtain most of their moisture from their prey, which includes rodents like mice and gerbils, as well as small birds, lizards, and snakes.
Resources: Panthera.org, earthtouchnews.org
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2272 Comments
- alyssonr7513 monthsThose baby cats for sure are cute
- mark1pl1er4 monthstheir so mean but so cute
- ravenwing4 monthsWonder how they got that way🤔
- savagepartygir4 monthsThey are so cute I want them but I can’t my mom is scared of them i I can’t touch them because I am allergic to them
- basketballanime4 monthsSO CUUUUUTE!!!
- hello_world12345 monthsTHERE SO CUTE I WANT ONE SO BAD RIGHT NOW
- songunicorn175 monthsOMG CUTEST THING EVER IT IS SO CUTEE😍😍😍😍
- adroit_avimimus6 monthsThat looks so awesome! Here are some facts about these adorable creatures! 1) Sand cats can bark like dogs! 2) They are impossible to track 3) Sand cats are capable of running 19-25 mph! 4) Sand cats are the only cats that live primarily in a desert environment 5) They are master diggers!
- aqua_husky5 monthsThanks for the fun facts! That is so cool!
- ravenwing5 monthsWow that's some really cool fact did you know that sand cats are also called sand dune cats?
- techfashion03155 monthsOh, that is super cool! Thanks for sharing!
- catluver266 monthsSo cute XD!!!!!!!!2 bad I'm allergic to cats in irl 😭
- aqua_husky5 monthsMe too. I LOVE those cats too!
- purefllx1236 monthsOh my gosh soooooooo cute!!!!!!!
- applerenee6 monthsThey are so adorable!