Assessing the Distribution and habitat ‎Suitability for Sand Cat (Mammalia: ‎Carnivora: Felidae) in Sistan and ‎Baluchistan Province, Iran

Knowledge about the species geographic range and habitat affinities is essential in the species conservation programs Thus, it can be said that  habitat selection is one of the most effective behavioral mechanism in the fitness of the organisms .Sand cat is a rare species. Sand cat is not well studied because this species lives in a harsh environment that is often remote, and these cats are nocturnal, subterranean, and secretive animals.  In this research we investigated SAND CAT’s habitat suitability and distribution in Sistan and Baluchistan province of the south eastern Iran using Maximum Entropy modeling approach. Our results indicated that the presence of the desert bushlands and vegetation cover is the most important variable which affects the species habitat selection and use since it provide prey habitat use in the area. Since there is no documented conservation and management program regarding SAND CATs in the study area, this research can provide enough basic data for such programs.