A special delivery from a rare sand cat surprises everyone!
This is Rotem, the lone surviving sand cat at Ramat Gan Safari Park in Israel, who tragically lost her mate a year ago. However, last September, she was introduced to Kalahari, her new companion, who was imported from Sweden.
Unfortunately, Rotem didn’t immediately warm up to the new arrival, and the two of them mostly avoided each other. But to the surprise of Rotem’s caretakers, three weeks ago, she gave birth to three kittens, who have now begun to venture beyond their nest on wobbly legs.
“We were extremely concerned,” admitted Sigal Horowitz, the spokesperson for the Safari, officially known as the Zoological Center of Tel Aviv. “We went through all the trouble of bringing her a mate a year ago, and nothing was happening. And these are crucial years for sand cats – they don’t live forever.”
Sand cats are not only stunning creatures but also incredibly rare, with only 116 recorded individuals remaining in the world today. Weighing between 1.5 to 3 kilograms, they have sand-colored fur and distinctive large ears, perfectly adapted to thrive in extreme desert conditions. They are also high on the list of animals that zoos worldwide collaborate to conserve. The ultimate goal is to reintroduce them to their natural habitat one day. Let’s hope their efforts succeed because the world would be a much poorer place without these magnificent creatures.
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