YouTube Video Proves Desert Cat Found in Libya After Years of Doubt

A man named Mohammed Almuntasir makes a video in 2017. He is a wildlife photographer. He films the video in a desert in Libya. The video shows a small cat. The cat has pale fur. The cat digs in the sand. The video is 18 seconds long. He puts the video on YouTube. He does not think it is important at first.

The cat in the video is a sand cat. This is a special cat. It lives only in deserts. When he posts the video, many people do not believe it. They say the video is fake. But the man says the cat lives in many places. One place is 70 kilometers from his home. Years pass. Now experts say southwest Libya is an important place for this cat.

A zoologist named Firas Hayder sees the video. He works at a university in South Africa. He contacts the man. They work together on a study. They want to learn about sand cats in Libya. Libya's southwest is a very empty place. Few people study animals there. There are no protected areas. There are no camera traps. There are no trained teams looking for animals.

Sources: theguardian.com