The total population of jaguars in the Americas is approximately 64,000. There are 34 jaguar subpopulations, 25 of which are threatened and eight of which are in danger of extinction. Jaguars are solitary animals and live and hunt alone, except during mating season.

Habitat. Jaguars typically live in forests or woods, but they are also found in desert areas, such as Arizona. They tend to stay close to water and they like to fish.

Jaguars – all of them male – occasionally have been seen in southern Arizona over the past decade, to the delight of researchers and schoolkids in Tucson, who gave the cats such names as Macho B and El Jefe.

Sand cat. The sand cat (Felis margarita) is the only truly desert-dwelling cat in the world, found in parts of northern Africa, the Middle East and central Asia. They are a small species, with bodies about 51 centimetres long. Sand cats are known to survive in temperatures of 40°C in summer down to -25°C in winter.

The gene responsible for the orange color is sex-linked, resulting in a much higher likelihood that an orange cat will be male versus female. Although the research is far from definitive, male cats have been said to be slightly friendlier than female cats, which could explain the loving nature of orange cats.

Chances are, you’re right. Most orange cats are male and most calicos are female. The color of a cat’s coat is closely linked to its gender. As you may recall from high school biology, mammals have two chromosomes that determine their sex—XX for females and XY for males.

Orange tabby cats have a lifespan similar to all cats, around 15-20 years.

This orange gene can appear in calico cats and tortoiseshells too. In other words, male orange cats always come from mothers with an orange gene, but female orange cats also require a father with the same gene. That’s why orange cats are usually male.

The ‘ginger gene’ which produces the orange colour is on the X chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes and so need two copies of this gene to become ginger, whereas males need only one. This means there are roughly three males to one female ginger cat.

Most orange cats are male, though females are not unheard of. Orange cats are usually outgoing and friendly. They tend to have more health issues than many other colors, including a tendency to develop allergies, dental disease and heart disease.

Males, or toms, can be friendlier than females. Intact male cats “spray” to mark their territory and “howl” for females (this is usually not a problem if you get him neutered). Female cats tend to be more reserved than males but are far less likely to spray.