“Ever since the first time I visited, I’ve been in love with the Sahara. That was in Morocco in 2011, to survey the situation of the Saharan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki). I am a conservation biologist at the University of Granada, Spain, and I quickly realized the importance of preserving these forgotten animals. It’s especially key in the context of climate change, to see how they adapt to drought, for instance.

The scientific community has paid little attention to Saharan wildlife. Almost nobody knows about the sand cat (Felis margarita), for example. This beautiful animal highlights the challenges that all ecological research faces in hostile and remote environments, such as the Sahara. My colleagues and I have published the only scientific estimate of the sand cat’s abundance (J. M. Gil-Sánchez et al. Eur. J. Wildl. Res. 69, 20; 2023).

It is difficult to work in such an isolated area. We must take a lot of care to avoid landmines left from regional conflict, for example, by using maps and steering clear of the areas that local camel herders also avoid.

I’m the chair of the non-governmental organization Harmusch Wildlife Research and Conservation, Ciudad Real, Spain. My fieldwork group is made up of a translator, scientists and wildlife experts. Some of the members also have skills as mechanics. We usually travel in two cars, with eight to ten people in total. Our expeditions last for 10–20 days. We need to carry enough water, food and fuel to see us through. We try to avoid the summer, because it’s impossible to carry as much water as we would need.