Trivia question for Mar-24-2011

Okay we are back on track again and today’s trivia comes from Carter and he decided to stick with felines.  This cat is the only member of the cat family that lives almost exclusively in sandy desert habitats.  They are born with stripes, but lose them as they mature.

Unusual among Asian cats, this cat has long hairs growing between its toes. These create a cushion of fur over the foot pads, helping to insulate them while moving over hot sand. The claws on the hind feet are small and blunt; combined with the fur over the foot pads, this helps to make the animal’s tracks obscure and difficult to follow

So here are Carter’s questions:  What is this cat and how did it get its name.  Also tell us how many times smaller this cat species is compared to its relative the Lion?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to ‘Arkte Spirit’ for being the first with the correct answer.  She was absolutely correct.  The cute little cat we featured was the Sand Cat.  The Sand cat, also referred to as the “sand dune cat”, is a small wild cat distributed over African and Asian deserts.

Victor Loche was the first European to describe the sand cat for science (in 1858). He named the species Felis margarita after Jean Auguste Margueritte, the leader of the expedition during which he had encountered the animal.

Among the smallest of felines, the Sand Cat is about 50-times smaller than the average lion.  Here is more on these sand loving felines: Sand Cat

Thanks for playing along 😉