YouTube video provides first material evidence of sand cats in Libya, study confirms

A short video posted in 2017 prompted an eight-year research effort that documented the sand cat at multiple sites in the Libyan Sahara for the first time.

• Wildlife photographer Mohammed Almuntasir uploaded an 18-second YouTube video in 2017 showing a sand cat in the dunes of south‑west Libya, later recognized as the first material evidence of the species in the country.
• Almuntasir collaborated remotely with zoologist Firas Hayder for eight years, conducting field research across the Hamada al Hamra plateau and adjacent areas.
• Their peer‑reviewed study, published in the Journal of Arid Environments in February 2026, documented sand cats at 13 sites and the Saharan striped polecat at eight new locations.
• Hayder said the video convinced him to collaborate and that he taught Almuntasir field methods from South Africa, including how to record GPS coordinates and document sightings.