Felis margarita | UAE National Red List of Mammals: Marine and Terrestrial
Taxa
Felis margarita | Loche, 1858
Asessment status in full
Endangered
Assessment status abreviation
EN
Assessment status criteria
D
Assessment rationale/justification
There are fewer than 100 records from the past 25 years in the EAD database, which implies that the population size must be small. It seems reasonable to estimate a population size of smaller than 250 mature individuals. Given that it is a sparsely distributed species, and with the recent new records from Abu Dhabi, it is difficult to say if the population is declining at present. It is therefore assessed as Endangered under criterion D. It appears to have undergone some declines since the assessment of Vulnerable made in 1996 and this is probably due to loss of habitat in parts of its range due to overgrazing and increasing infrastructure. There might also have been some persecution; the species is not specifically targeted but would be killed if caught and could fall victim to poisoning. There is unlikely to be any significant rescue effect as the the species is widely scattered and declining across the Arabian Peninsula. Furthermore, the fenced border with Saudi Arabia may be a barrier to movement.
Assessment year
2018
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Government
IGO
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
https://www.moccae.gov.ae/assets/download/b352eff1/UNRL%20of%20Mammals%20-%20Report%202019.pdf.aspx?view=true
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Threats listed in assessment
Habitat loss and degradation are likely to represent the major threat to the Sand Cat through overgrazing by camels and other livestock and expansion of roads and settlements. “Dune bashing' may further damage fragile sand dune habitat. Sand Cats are vulnerable to indiscriminate trapping and poisoning of predators, but they are unlikely to be directly targeted. In view of the widely scattered known localities, fragmentation may also be a factor, but this requires further investigation (Mallon and Budd 2011). Fencing may impede movement, and depending on mesh size, cause injury or death (cases of Sand Cat mortality in fence lines in Saudi Arabia were reported by Sher Shah and Cunningham 2008).
Conservation Measures
Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:
History
The information collected since 1996 indicates a population (<) 250 mature individuals and it appears to have undergone some declines, probably due to loss of habitat in parts of its range due to overgrazing and increasing infrastructure. There might also have been some persecution. Hornby (1996) assessed the species as Endangered, however, we consider that there would likely have been more than 250 mature individuals back then, so backcasted it to be Vulnerable (VU D).
Scientific Name | Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Felis margarita | Animalia | Chordata | Mammalia | Carnivora | Felidae | Felis |