Hidden in the city: the mysterious desert cat hiding in the man-made forest

The desert cat has obvious tufts of hair on the ear tips, its eyes are light gray-blue, and its nose is usually flesh-pink. Its fur color is mainly brown to yellow-brown, with lighter fur on the abdomen and lower jaw. Its tail is very distinctive, with 4 to 6 black ring-shaped stripes and a black tip. An adult desert cat weighs between 4 and 8 kg.

Although they may look ordinary, they are the only species of wild cats in the world that is endemic to China . They are a national first-class protected wild animal and are classified as vulnerable (VU) in the IUCN Red List. Since there is still little research on desert cats and much about their lives is still unknown, they are also known as one of the most mysterious cats .

Desert cats don’t live in the desert

The reason why it is called "the pale desert cat" is that in the 19th century, a French guy passed through Kangding, Sichuan, bought two skins (this was a common way for naturalists to collect specimens at the time), brought them back to Paris and sent them to the Natural History Museum. Sir Miner Edward, a museum employee and also a mammalogist, saw that it had yellow-brown hair, so he guessed that it should be a cat living in the desert, and this hair can help it hide well in the desert, which is also yellow-brown. So he named it "the pale desert cat", which translates to "a light-colored cat living in the desert". So when the information about this species traveled across the ocean and returned to our country, it became a "desert cat".

But in fact, if we look at the distribution area of ​​the desert cat now, we will find that it does not live in the desert at all. The desert cat is mainly distributed in Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces .

The first infrared photo of a desert cat was taken by Dr. Yin Yufeng in the thickets of Sichuan mountains. The other photo was taken by Professor Han Xuesong on the Jiatang grassland in Sanjiangyuan. They live on grasslands with low thickets and use marmot holes for reproduction.

Photographed by Yin Yufeng

Photographed by Han Xuesong in Qinghai, the desert cat has another nickname , the grass cat , because we can usually only see it when it moves, and it can really blend in with the grass in the environment.

Why do desert cats choose to live around humans?

At present, in the entire Qilian Mountain area, Menyuan County, Qinghai Province, is the place where the highest density of desert cats is found . Menyuan County is located between the Qilian Mountains and the Daban Mountains. It is located in a basin with good water and heat conditions, so people have reclaimed large tracts of farmland surrounded by grasslands for grazing. In the early 21st century, due to the project of returning farmland to forest, Menyuan County planted many artificial forests between farmland and on river beaches. What we didn't expect was that in such a human-dominated habitat, there are not only many wild animals such as Tibetan foxes, red foxes, leopard cats, manuls, Himalayan marmots, roe deer, etc., but also the desert cat, a national first-class protected animal .

Photographed by Song Dazhao 1) Natural enemies of desert cats We used infrared cameras to investigate wildlife in the Menyuan area and found that the predators here are mainly small and medium-sized carnivores , among which desert cats and red foxes have become the dominant predators. Therefore, we speculate that the reason why desert cats choose such a habitat is that there are almost no natural enemies here. This is also in line with the so-called "intermediate carnivore release effect". Due to the existence of human activities, large carnivores that require larger habitats find it difficult to survive here and gradually die out. Therefore, small and medium-sized carnivores that were once under predation pressure from large carnivores are able to survive here. At the same time, because small and medium-sized carnivores have a wider diet and stronger adaptability, they can tolerate a certain degree of interference from human activities.

2) Desert Cat Habitat

We further used infrared camera data, combined with the habitat conditions in the study area, and found that carnivores such as desert cats prefer to use artificial forests. In the Menyuan area, artificial forests mainly grow drought-resistant plants such as sea buckthorn. However, sea buckthorn has many thorns, so it is difficult for humans to walk in it. At the same time, there are fences around artificial forests and grazing is not allowed. Desert cats prefer places with higher vegetation shade. We further measured the degree of vegetation shade in different habitats and found that artificial forests are the only habitats that can provide high shade throughout the year. Therefore, desert cats are able to use artificial forests as shelter and reproduce in artificial forests.

3) Activity patterns of desert cats

We tried to use satellite tracking collars to study the activities of desert cats. First, we asked the cats in our mentor's home to volunteer to try the collars to ensure that the desert cats could live normally after wearing the collars. Then we submitted an application for capturing desert cats to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve. After obtaining approval, we selected March and October as the capture seasons. Using cages for catching stray cats and restraint bags designed by ourselves, we successfully captured and collared 10 desert cats.

Through collar data, we studied the daily activity rhythm, home range area and habitat utilization of desert cats. There is no obvious gender difference in the daily activity rhythm of desert cats, but the seasonal difference is very obvious : in summer, they are mainly active at dusk and night, and in winter, they are mainly active during the day and dusk. Male desert cats have a larger daily activity range during the mating season, probably because they need to find a mate; female desert cats have a larger daily activity range during the breeding season. The nighttime activity range of desert cats is significantly larger than that during the day, especially in the summer, which significantly increases the area of ​​nighttime activities. The average annual home range of desert cats is greater than 3.7km2, and the annual core activity area is about 0.6km2.

4) Food of desert cats

We used DNA from desert cat feces to assess the composition of their diet. We first identified and collected feces of carnivores in the wild, then extracted DNA, amplified specific barcode segments, and combined bioinformatics analysis to identify prey species. We identified 49 different prey species in desert cat feces, most of which were mammals, as well as birds, fish, and amphibians. The most common prey eaten by desert cats are rodents, and their favorite foods are voles, pikas, zokors, and hamsters. These are all farmland rodent pests. It can be said that desert cats are actually the guardians of farmland and good friends of humans.

Photographed by Song Dazhao

Potential threats to desert cats

1) Roadkill

Roadkill is one of the factors threatening the survival of desert cats. From 2020 to 2023, we recorded a total of 15 roadkill deaths in Menyuan area. Roadkill mainly occurs on the roads between artificial forests and farmland, mainly on national highways . Through satellite tracking collars, we predicted the high-frequency areas where desert cats cross the road, and installed slow-down warning signs at locations where roadkill is likely to occur.

2) Animal Traps

We found and cleared many animal traps in the artificial forest, and also recorded desert cats with their legs caught in animal traps. In 22 years alone, there were 4 news reports about rescue of desert cats injured by animal traps in Menyuan County .

3) Secondary poisoning caused by rodent control

Drug de-ratification is still the main de-ratification method in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but the secondary poisoning caused by it may threaten the survival of desert cats. Therefore, through questionnaires and interviews, we popularized more reasonable de-ratification methods and the importance of protecting desert cats to local residents.

4) Crossbreeding with domestic cats

Molecular studies have shown that desert cats can interbreed with domestic cats. Through infrared camera surveys, we found that domestic cats and desert cats have very similar habitat preferences and activity rhythms. We also found desert cat mothers playing with kittens with obvious hybrid characteristics in artificial forests. In the future, if interbreeding is not stopped, the genes of desert cats will be threatened .

Conservation efforts

Based on the above findings, we are also trying to do some protection work within our capacity. We have held seminars with Qilian Mountain National Park and Qinghai Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau, and regularly report existing findings and protection suggestions. At the same time, we have increased the protection of desert cats in the local area, including but not limited to making road signs that say "slow down when wild animals are around" to reduce the road kill of desert cats, making desert cat-related peripheral gifts for local residents, and drawing and distributing desert cat science brochures and roll-up banners. We hope that with our efforts, desert cats can survive better.