Last of their Kind: Desert Ghosts

The Saharan Cheetah. Image Source: BBC.

Caption for the above image: After a year of searching, scientists have taken one of the first photographs of the elusive Saharan cheetah living in Termit, Niger. Fewer than 10 of the cats remain, and little is known about their behaviour.

BBC is reporting that photographs have been taken of one of the rarest creatures on earth: the Saharan Cheetah.

BBC:

There's another camera-trap photo of a Saharan Cheetah at National Geographic:

Image © Farid Belbachir/ZSL/OPNA. Image Source: National Geographic.

Click here to see other images of endangered cat and dog species photographed by the Saharan Carnivore Project.

Click for my earlier post on creatures that are the last of their kinds.

The ghostly image of the Saharan cheetah has excited conservationists, as perhaps fewer than 10 of the cats survive in the deserts of Termit, Niger, where the photograph was taken. Almost nothing is known of the Saharan cheetah, except that it endures extremely high temperatures and appears to survive without a permanent source of water. ... Saharan cheetahs appear to have different colour and spot patterns compared to common cheetahs that roam elsewhere in Africa. However, "very little is known about the behavioural differences between the two cheetahs, as they have never been studied in the wild," says Dr Rabeil. "From observations of tracks and anecdotal reports they seem to be highly adaptable and able to eke out an existence in the Termit and Tin Toumma desert." ... In doing so the animals endure exceptionally high summer temperatures.