Felines - small, wild beautiful III:

The hardy sand cat and agile margay

Have you been enjoying reading about the different members of the feline family we featured the last couple of weeks? The little wild cats are indeed fascinating and cute too. Perhaps some of you are dreaming of owning one as a pet.

As most wild cats are similar to their big cousins, especially the leopards, having a small wild cat would be like having a leopard cub that never grows big. But, even though some small wild cats are kept as exotic pets, they should really be allowed to live where they belong - in the wild!

Today too we introduce you to yet another pair of feline beauties from Asian and African deserts and the American continent. They are the sand cat and the margay.

Sand cat

It is considered to be the most attractive feline in Arabia. The Sand cat (Felis marganta) lives in the African and Asian deserts such as the Sahara, Arabian desert, and deserts in Iran and Pakistan. It can live in areas that are too hot even for the desert cat.

It can survive in temperatures ranging from -5 to +52 degrees Celsius. Six sub-species have been recognised so far. The sand cats indigenous to each area are classified as sub-species.

The sand cat, as its name implies, prefers sand dunes, but is found in rocky areas too, especially as it hides under rocks during the daytime. It is solitary and predominantly nocturnal. It hunts only at night, returning to its den before sunrise to shelter from the harsh desert sun and predators.

The sand cat's diet consists of small rodents, reptiles including venomous desert snakes, insects and small birds. It hardly needs water since it obtains most of its requirements from its prey. As a result, it stays away from water points.

It is about 50 cm (20 inches) in length with a tail of 30 cm (12 inch). It's 30 cm in height at the shoulders. The sand cat weighs about 2.7 kg (6 lbs) and is slightly smaller than the average domestic cat. It has short legs, forward placed eyes, a broad head and large, pointed ears.

The ears set wide apart are disproportionately large, but gives it acute hearing. The colour of the coat is uniformly grey, sandy brown or golden yellow and is finely speckled with black above the shoulders. Its coat colour provides ideal camouflage in the desert.

There are fairly distinct black barring on the thighs. The fur on top of the tail is black. The broad face is marked with a pronounced reddish strip which extends from each eye backwards across the cheek. The chin, throat, chest and belly areas are covered with thick, soft, white fur. There are two elaborate bars on the limbs.

The sand cat's paws are different to that of most wild cats. The palms and soles are covered by a dense mat of fine black hairs to protect the sensitive pads from the hot sand and also to prevent sinking in the soft sand.

The large ears which can swivel (turn) to funnel sound into the inner ear too are protected from the sand by coarse hairs.

The sand cat is well insulated by its thick fur. The sand cat, which is also one of the smallest cats in the feline family and in Arabia, is similar to Gorden's wildcat, but is much paler in colour. It usually stays in a den which is dug by itself, when not hunting.

This den is used the whole year through. The female gives birth to a litter of 1-8 kittens (typically 4-5) after a gestation period of 62 days. The kittens develop rapidly and become independent at an early age in the wild.

They are born blind and open their eyes only after two weeks. At birth, the kittens weigh around 40 grams. Their daily weight gain is 12 grams. They have distinctive markings on the coat, but they fade away as the kittens grow.

The first four kittens bred in captivity were recorded from the Al Ain Zoo in UAE in 2000. In captivity, sand cats live up to 13 years. Sand cats have extremely sharp teeth and claws. The impression of the claws is often visible in the tracks.

When disturbed, sand cats normally freeze, wherever they are. They also have a tendency to close their eyes against the lights at night. As they are not easy to spot in the wild, they are considered to be rare. However there are some who bring up sand cats as pets.

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Margay

Native to Central and South America, the Margay (Leopardus wiedi), also known as the long tailed spotted cat, is similar to the Ocelot (featured in the Junior Observer of January 13) in appearance. It is also a solitary and nocturnal animal like most of the other cats we've featured so far.

The margay prefers to live in remote rainforests and its range extends from Mexico, down through Peru to parts of Paraguay to the northern areas of Argentina.

It is about 3-9 kg (6.6 - 20 lbs) in weight and has a body length of 45-80 cm with a tail of about 33-51 cm (13-20 in). In comparison to its body, its tail and legs are longer than in other cats. It's plush, thick tail, which averages 70 per cent of its head and body length, is used as a counterweight to aid in balance.

Even though the margay is often mistaken for the ocelot, there are marked differences especially in the coat markings. For instance, the rossett markings on a tawny to yellow/buff background are less defined in the margay than in the ocelot, and appears more frequently as blotches along its back. The cat has extensively large eyes which aid in its night vision.

The margay is a skilful climber and is often referred to as the 'Tree Ocelot'. The Margay is physically adapted to life in trees and may spend its entire life pursuing prey on trees. It is one of two species which has the ability to rotate its hind feet.

The other small, wild cat which can do this is the clouded leopard. Because of the flexibility of the ankles which can turn up to 180 degrees, the margay can come down trees, head first.It can also grasp the branches of trees firmly with its fore and hind paws and hang on one foot from trees. It can also jump considerable distances.

The margay's diet consists of birds, lizards, tree frogs, big-eared climbing rats, eggs and even porcupines. It has been found that the margay may eat grass and vegetation to help in digestion, like domestic cats do. It hunts almost exclusively at night most of the creatures that inhabit the forest canopy and hunt creatures on the ground and eat fruits as a supplementary diet.

Of all the felines, the margay is the most adaptable to true arboreal life.

The female gives birth to only one kitten most often and it weighs around 2.75 - 6 ounces. Like most cats, the Margay kitten also opens its eyes when it's around two weeks old. It's weaned after two months.

In captivity, margays have lived up to 20 years!