With its abundance of gerbils, jerboas, beetles, scorpions and lizards, the Sahara is blessed with an amazing variety of small carnivores. All live largely nocturnal existences, finding respite from the intense heat by burrowing. The ecology and behaviour behind their ability to coexist is still largely unknown. Likewise, their conservation status, with many species simply listed as “Data Deficient” in the IUCN Red List.