Mammals, Western Sahara (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Here are some mammal IDs to check from Western Sahara. My thinking is that this is a Libyan Jird, but I'm slightly out of my depth on these sorts of things. Any confirmation or refutation gratefully received.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I've assumed this small cat from near Oued Jenna is an African Wildcat. Are there any other possibilities and are there any indications of hybridisation?

All photos from earlier this month.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Hybridisation came straight to my mind Andrew but what with?

I've seen the species but there's only a vague resemblence here I think, look at the size of those ears for one thing!


A

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Hybridisation came straight to my mind Andrew but what with?

I've seen the species but there's only a vague resemblence here I think, look at the size of those ears for one thing!


A

Was thinking of hybridisation with a domestic cat. I'm sure that's possible but not sure how common it is and what the hybrids would look like.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Was thinking of hybridisation with a domestic cat. I'm sure that's possible but not sure how common it is and what the hybrids would look like.

Unless it's the light it looks very pale, sandy in colour that's why I was wondering about something other than domestic cat?

I don't know what natural variation there is regarding the coat but this looks far too pale to be pure?

The ones I've seen have been stripier too especially on the legs but again I don't know about normal variation?


A

 

[Mike Richardson]

Your small mammal looks good for Libyan Jird assuming it was the size of a small rat (and not mouse sized). Range maps for gerbils and Jirds in often contradict each other so it's difficult to check other Jirds that occur in the same area. Great photographs BTW.

Plenty of feral cats occur in Western Sahara, even in remote areas such as Oued Jenna (apparently many originate from the UN base) so I don't see any reason why they couldn't hybridise with the local Wildcats. However, I can't see any obvious reason why the animal you photographed isn't a good candidate for pure African Wildcat. Desert cats are much lighter coloured than those living in damper environments and I've seen similar coloured individuals in the Kgalagadi TF (South Africa). The Wildcats I have seen in Western Sahara did have more prominent leg stripes but their body shape was the same (thin, long legged with large ears).

Interestingly one of my guide books mentions African Wildcat has a vertical back when sitting (unlike domestic cats and hybrids). If you think the animal in your photo shows a vertical back then this might provide a better answer than I can give.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Many thanks for your comments Mike - was hoping you'd have a look at these! The Jird was certainly larger than mouse-sized and bigger than the gerbils I saw.

I've also read about the straight-backed look of African Wildcats and reckon this one shows that feature. It had quite a striking shape and posture in the field - not much like a domestic cat.

 

[Mike Richardson]

Many thanks for your comments Mike - was hoping you'd have a look at these! The Jird was certainly larger than mouse-sized and bigger than the gerbils I saw.

I've also read about the straight-backed look of African Wildcats and reckon this one shows that feature. It had quite a striking shape and posture in the field - not much like a domestic cat.

I've only ever seen one Jird despite spending a fair amount of time in places they occur. Hopefully you'll be writing a report with more details on your mammal sightings.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I've only ever seen one Jird despite spending a fair amount of time in places they occur. Hopefully you'll be writing a report with more details on your mammal sightings.

Suspect I got lucky with that one then. It was at the Dakhla Attitude Resort, trotting about in the middle of the day. I'll hopefully write a report soon, though these were maybe the best mammals I saw.

 

[Acrocephalus]

Desert cats are much lighter coloured than those living in damper environments and I've seen similar coloured individuals in the Kgalagadi TF (South Africa).

What about this very pale cat photographed during daylight at Aousserd. The observers say it’s an African Wildcat, and Dan Brown saw the photo and didn’t say it wasn’t.
The penultimate photo here: http://www.magornitho.org/2015/12/autumn-breeding-saharan-birds/
And here (head only): https://twitter.com/MoroccanBirds/status/676748586953154560

 

[Andy Adcock]

I've been looking at Handbook of Mammals, there are few illustrations, it simply states that they are variable. One feature mentioned in the book and highlighted by Mike, is the 'vertical' posture when sitting which is the result of very long front legs.

Not sure Andrews shows this posture?


A

 

[Farnboro John]

FWIW, which may not be much, I come down on the side of Andrew's picture being a good African Wildcat but the one on the blog, probably not: because the tail rings on Andrew's cat are complete and the other ones are not. On European (Scottish) Wildcat we would treat incomplete/dorsally stronger tail rings as a very strong indicator of hybridisation and I see no reason not to here.

John

 

[T.O.]

Both Kingdon and Foley et al.'s guide mention the russet at the back of the ear as a good indicator for a real African wild cat, as opposed to domestics and that is visible in this pictures too.

The picture in the links looks much more like a domestic based on the "jizz"....