I picked the name “sandCat” for my blog entirely on a whim, mostly because my nickname is Cat, and I am living in the desert (where there is…uh…sand). To my surprise and delight I read this morning (in the 7days newspaper) about the successful IVF breeding of a Sand Cat kitten by the Al Ain Zoo and some US scientists. The cat is native to the UAE and Arabia but sadly is in danger of extinction.
Isn’t s(he) lovely.
Comments
2 responses to “the real Sand Cat”
Hi there. Nice photo of a sand cat. Is there a conservation campaign in the Middle East to save the sand cat from extinction?
@Anon
Thanks for the comment. Yes, there is some work being done by the Al Ain Wildlife Park, in conjunction with the University of Illinois and the Cincinnati Zoo, to breed these cuties using IVF and strengthen their genetic diversity, and of course try and increase their dwindling numbers.
A few stories you might like:
http://www.uaeinteract.com/docs/Sand_cat_pair_at_Al_Ain_Wildlife_Park_and_Resort/41050.htm
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=/data/theuae/2010/June/theuae_June422.xml§ion=theuae
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/leisure/al-ain-wildlife-park-unveils-summer-schedule-1.811935