Wild Sand Kittens Have Just Been Caught On Film For The First Time Ever And They’re Too Adorable
After four patient years of extensive research, sand cat kittens have finally been caught on camera for the very first time.
The cute kittens, aged between six to eight weeks old, were spotted by a big cat organization called Panthera, who spent around an hour taking images of the rare animals before radio-collaring an adult female believed to be their mother. The team, headed by biologists Grégory Breton and Dr. Alexander Sliwa, noticed the adorable kittens as they drove back to camp in the Moroccan Sahara in April this year. Spotting three pairs of eyes glowing in the darkness, the researchers couldn’t believe their luck when they realized what they’d found.
“Finding these tiny kittens was astonishing,” said Breton, managing director of Panthera France. “We believe this was the first time researchers ever documented wild sand cat kittens in their African range.”
Sand cats are the only species of wild cats that live exclusively in the desert. These tiny cats can be found in North Africa, The Middle East, and Central Asia, but as the research team discovered, actually locating them is incredibly difficult due to their extraordinary ability to evade detection. Their sand-colored coats make them hard to spot, and their furry paws mean they don’t leave any footprints in the sand. They only travel under cover of darkness and they always clear up after themselves, so the fact that the team was able to capture the amazing footage below is nothing short of remarkable. Scroll down to see for yourself. And no, before you ask, you cannot keep these adorable animals as pets.
More info: Panthera
Image credits: Grégory Breton
Image credits: Grégory Breton
Image credits: Grégory Breton
Image credits: Grégory Breton
Image credits: Grégory Breton
Image credits: Grégory Breton
Image credits: Grégory Breton
Image credits: Grégory Breton
Image credits: Grégory Breton
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The sand (or desert) cats must be visually cutest species on the planet. Thanks a lot for sharing the photos, but I sure hope the team will keep the location secret. It could fire back, having bunch of scrupulous low-life hunters on their trail, killing or capturing these for idiots wanting to have a rare trophy or a pet.
I typed out a similar comment... and scrolled down to see so many more people resonate the same sentiment of keeping these creatures away from malicious money-making eyes.... I am happy to see that there are some people who DO understand the importance of keeping locations secret so that the animals stay out of harms way! We'll continue making that difference!
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I'm right now reading a whole book on the 37 wild cat species found in existence. And of course, Felis margarita is the cutest species of them all. But I do hope no one starts looking for one as a pet, they are rare, like most cat species and they'd do better if they are left alone.
Too late. At least one wildlife rescue operation has had full grown sand cats delivered to it that were confiscated from private owners. The illegal wildlife trade is alive and well, for those who have enough money.
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This is so cute I forgot how to human. Attempting reboot of how-to-act-human.exe
Adorable, but what about the lighting of cameras? Let them be in tranquil enviroment.
I legit thought this was a joke and some dude was photographing his own kittens. my bad...my bad.
Love the pictures but now worried about the impact of us knowing where they are, poor little things should just be left alone.
So precious, thanks for the hint that they shouldn´t be kept as pets, they´re adorable wildct, these sandcats!!!
Did they actually need to go with a flash? Poor kittens are confused and scared(
Too cute! And I agree with the comments, they should be left alone in their natural habitat. We're lucky to still have them on earth. Thank you for sharing and letting us see this adorable species! :)
Sand cats are cute, but Siberian cats are even cuter. And you CAN have them as pets. They're "the cat for dog lovers".
Come on some consideration would of been nice?! Flashing lights to ruin their growing eyes. cause you'd really do that to human babies wouldn't you? Oh and having the engine running, waste of energy and poor things looked so startled, damn humans needing to record everything! I need a photo so lets flash the camera to get the best lighting who cares if there eyes go blurry or don't develop correctly, all for recorded history to humans that deserve everything *laughs sarcastically* Other than that, beautiful. Sorry in a negative mood but still someones gotta speak on behalf of animals. I hope there wasn't alot of people there.
Sorry sport, you'll have to wait until they breed a look a like domestic variant, these cuties are Wild with the capital W. Still brain meltingly cute of course.
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Lisa Panos Fullerton, These kittens and adults are not suited for pet status. They live in a very specific environment that they've adapted to. But....I hear what you're saying, I'd love one or two myself. :)
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The sand (or desert) cats must be visually cutest species on the planet. Thanks a lot for sharing the photos, but I sure hope the team will keep the location secret. It could fire back, having bunch of scrupulous low-life hunters on their trail, killing or capturing these for idiots wanting to have a rare trophy or a pet.
I typed out a similar comment... and scrolled down to see so many more people resonate the same sentiment of keeping these creatures away from malicious money-making eyes.... I am happy to see that there are some people who DO understand the importance of keeping locations secret so that the animals stay out of harms way! We'll continue making that difference!
Load More Replies... I'm right now reading a whole book on the 37 wild cat species found in existence. And of course, Felis margarita is the cutest species of them all. But I do hope no one starts looking for one as a pet, they are rare, like most cat species and they'd do better if they are left alone.
Too late. At least one wildlife rescue operation has had full grown sand cats delivered to it that were confiscated from private owners. The illegal wildlife trade is alive and well, for those who have enough money.
Load More Replies... This is so cute I forgot how to human. Attempting reboot of how-to-act-human.exe
Adorable, but what about the lighting of cameras? Let them be in tranquil enviroment.
I legit thought this was a joke and some dude was photographing his own kittens. my bad...my bad.
Love the pictures but now worried about the impact of us knowing where they are, poor little things should just be left alone.
So precious, thanks for the hint that they shouldn´t be kept as pets, they´re adorable wildct, these sandcats!!!
Did they actually need to go with a flash? Poor kittens are confused and scared(
Too cute! And I agree with the comments, they should be left alone in their natural habitat. We're lucky to still have them on earth. Thank you for sharing and letting us see this adorable species! :)
Sand cats are cute, but Siberian cats are even cuter. And you CAN have them as pets. They're "the cat for dog lovers".
Come on some consideration would of been nice?! Flashing lights to ruin their growing eyes. cause you'd really do that to human babies wouldn't you? Oh and having the engine running, waste of energy and poor things looked so startled, damn humans needing to record everything! I need a photo so lets flash the camera to get the best lighting who cares if there eyes go blurry or don't develop correctly, all for recorded history to humans that deserve everything *laughs sarcastically* Other than that, beautiful. Sorry in a negative mood but still someones gotta speak on behalf of animals. I hope there wasn't alot of people there.
Sorry sport, you'll have to wait until they breed a look a like domestic variant, these cuties are Wild with the capital W. Still brain meltingly cute of course.
Load More Replies... Lisa Panos Fullerton, These kittens and adults are not suited for pet status. They live in a very specific environment that they've adapted to. But....I hear what you're saying, I'd love one or two myself. :)
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