King of the sands

The Arabian desert, one of the harshest ecosystems on the planet. Summer days see scorching temperatures of forty degrees celsius and during winter nights temperature plunges well past negative twenty-five. The animals that call thes dunes, rocks and canyons home specialize in the extreme. On of these residents is a small one that you may have never heard of, THE SAND CAT.

They may look like a house cats but these beige beauties are the only cat to live predominantly in the desert, and theybare built to handle extremes. On specially hot days, the sand can reach temperatures of eighty degrees celsius, hot enough to burn a cat's feet. Sand cats however have long fur that covers their pads, protecting them from the hot arabian sand. This comes with a secondary benefit, it allows them to leave no footprints, making it near impossible for predators to track them.

But in the desert, heat is only one of the equation, With the little vapor in the air to trap warmth, at night temperatures plunges into freezing. Fortunately, sand cats have a thick coat that insulates their body from the cold keeping them warmth at night and cool during day.

Spotting a sand cat is difficult, they live in low densities, they are extremely well camouflaged and when they move they stay low to the ground. Even when they run, they will keep their bellies as close to the ground as possible. While they may look like silly, they can still top forty kilometers an hour.

During the day they will avoid the intense sun by napping in the shade or in their burrows. At night is when they are most active. Their habitat is almost barren. Vegetation, water and prey are rare. To find meal, sand cats travel distances covering up to eight kilometers at night. Their massive habitat is sparsely populated by creatures doing their best to stay undercover. To find something to eat, sand cats have big advantages; their ears. Their ears are giant and contain an ear canal that is roughly twice as wide as domestic cats. These cats can pick up very low- frequencies. A helpful skill in the open dessert where low sounds travel the furthest.

These adorably oversized ears allows them to hear prey scuttling the sand up to half a kilometer away. With meals few and far between, these cats are not picky eaters. They will eat whatever they can get their paws on. The desert is a dry and unforgiving place to live. This sand cats will have to take what it can get. Water is scarce but sand cats do not need it. They have adapted to survive without having to drink. Instead they get all the moisture they need from their prey.

In fact until 2015, we have almost nothing about these desert dwelling felines and we still have so much to learn but thanks to our researchers with their new technologies and efforts to know more.

:JUST REALIZED THAT DESERT IS AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT FOR CATS. IT IS JUST ONE GIANT LITTLE BOX HAHAHA.