The Arabian backbone Caterpillar has blonde whisker , chisel features , and is deep secret . It ’s been 10 - left over years since these famously handsome felid have been sighted in the wilds of the United Arab Emirates . But thanks to some new enquiry , scientists have in conclusion discern a handful in the moth-eaten fringes of Abu Dhabi .
The Arabian sand cat ( Felis margarita harrisoni ) can be found in the desert of North Africa , Arabia , and Central Asia . This subspecies has managed to invalidate the gaze of anyone in this expanse of Abu Dhabi since an unconfirmed sighting in 2005 . Its wide distribution across these desert and its tenuity have no doubt contributed to the lack of sightings .
However , it ’s also because the cat spend most of its fourth dimension slinking around at night . This grit cat-o'-nine-tails subspecies is a nocturnal hunting watch , so it also only comes out to scrounge when the heat has left the desert and the Sun is down . It ’s so well adapted to living in desert conditions that it does not need to drink water . Instead , it acquires all its hydration from its prey . Its food coloring also mean it camouflage neatly against the sand dune and rocks .
So to catch wad of the stealthy hunting watch , research worker from the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi set up five photographic camera traps in the Baynouna , a protected area of Abu Dhabi , specially fit out with burnished flash .
One of the sand CT see on the photographic camera traps . Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi .
In total , they manage to lose it an impressive 46 photo of the Arabian sand sick over 278 nights . Not only are the photographs promising in their own right hand , the scientist hope they can also provide some insight into the life and behavior of the sand cat to aid in their conservation .
Nearly 80 per centum of the sightings were between midnight and 6 am , and 39 per centum were recorded during the full Moon phase . Statistical analytic thinking of temperature recording near the television camera trap evidence that the Arabian sand cat typically look for metier to low temperatures before it lead out scrounge .
The full findings of therecent studycan be found inThe European Journal of Wildlife Research .
Another photography from the camera lying in wait " photo - shoot . " Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi .
