recently,A desert cat, a national first-level protected wild animal, was accidentally photographed by an infrared camera at the Dagu Glacier Scenic Area in Sichuan.It is reported that the desert cat is a mammal of the carnivorous order Felidae. It is larger than ordinary domestic cats, has slightly longer limbs, a body length of about 60-80 cm, a tail length of about 23-35 cm, a weight of about 4-8 kg, and a tuft of short hair on the ends of its ears.
The back of the body is brownish gray or sandy yellow, the midline of the back is not obvious, there are several black rings at the end of the tail, and the tip is black.
The desert cat is a species endemic to China. It is distributed in Gansu, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Sichuan, Ningxia and other places. It inhabits alpine forests, deserts and grassland edge areas.
There is a very special thing about the desert cat. It is one of the two carnivores unique to China, and the other one is the well-known giant panda.
It mainly preys on small rodents such as pikas and zokors in grasslands and deserts, and sometimes birds and bats.
At the same time, desert cats are as rare as giant pandas. In the new standards released by IUCN in 2022, desert cats are rated as vulnerable.
It is estimated that there are fewer than 10,000 mature individuals of the desert cat, and the population may decline by 10% within 10 years.
According to the "Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" revised in 2021,The desert cat has been upgraded to a first-level protected animal.