Sand Cat Camera Trap Records and Site-Use Analysis for Qatar, 2022-2025

A dataset provides the first confirmed record of sand cat presence in Qatar. It includes 106 detection events from 85 motion-triggered cameras active for 9,444 trap nights across four sites from February 2022 to January 2025. The data was collected by Muhammad Ali Nawaz and includes site-use modeling results based on vegetation indices.

Use Cases

• Modeling sand cat site-use probability based on Fractional Vegetation and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index covariates.
• Analyzing seasonal activity patterns of sand cats based on detection events across months.
• Assessing the conservation value of protected areas for small felids based on breeding evidence and detection frequency.
• Planning expanded camera-trap surveys across Qatar and the Arabian Peninsula based on initial distribution findings.

Strengths

• Data collection was systematic, involving 85 cameras over 9,444 trap nights.
• The dataset resolves a long-standing uncertainty, providing the first confirmed record of sand cats in Qatar.
• Includes evidence of active breeding within the study area, captured via photographic evidence.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset's scope is limited to four study sites in Qatar, with a file size of only 190.0 KB.

Provenance

Source

Muhammad Ali Nawaz via figshare.

Collection Method

Data gathered via motion-triggered camera traps and analyzed using the unmarked package in R.

Time Range

February 2022 to January 2025.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-28 06:17:12; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Four study sites in Qatar, primarily Al-Ureiq Reserve.