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| BLACK-FOOTED
CAT - KEY FACTS |
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| Scientific Name: Felis nigripes |
| Size: Head and body 16-20 inches (40-50cm);
tail 6-10 inches (16-25cm) |
| Weight: 3.5-5.5 pounds (1.5-2.5kg) |
| Distribution: Arid regions of southern
Africa including Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa |
| Habitat: Dry open areas, desert, grassland |
| Diet: Gerbils, mice, small rodents,
birds, small reptiles, spiders and insects |
| Reproduction: After a gestation period
of 9 weeks, female gives birth to 1-2 kittens |
| Status: Vulnerable |
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The Black-footed Cat is also known
by several other names including the African Black-footed Cat, the Small Spotted
Cat, the Sebala Cat, and is also referred to as the Anthill Tiger because it often
makes its den in an abandoned termite mound.
This tiny little African wild cat acquired its name because the pads and underparts
of its feet are black. Their fur is a tawny-gold/yellowish brown color, marked
with prominent black or brown spots which sometimes merge to form bands or rings.
These rings are also evident
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on
the legs and the short tail, which has a black tip as well. They have large ears
and extremely acute hearing. The Black-footed Cat is smaller than a domestic cat,
and is the tiniest of all the wild felines. Females weigh about 3.5 pounds while
males can weigh 4.5-5.5 pounds. Their small size makes them extremely vulnerable
if physically attacked by any other animal. However, these cats are extremely
shy and secretive and are known to retreat to their hiding place at the slightest
sign of trouble. They spend the day in termite mound holes or in abandoned aardvark
or springhare burrows, and only emerge to hunt when it is dark.
These small cats have a restricted range, being confined to the more arid regions
of southern Africa. They are found in the dry open areas, grasslands and semidesert
regions of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. In most regions they are now said
to be extremely rare, but are still holding their own in the remote areas of the
Kalahari Desert. The Black-footed Cat is a solitary, nocturnal hunter which do
not venture out of their hiding places until two hours after sunset. They prey
on gerbils, mice, small rodents, small birds, small reptiles, spiders, and insects,
and show great persistence in digging for prey. Though they will drink if water
is available, Black-footed Cats can get all the moisture they need from their
prey.
Black-footed Cats have acquired a reputation for ferocity! According to local
folklore, this little cat is so fierce that it will fasten its jaws onto the neck
of a sheep or giraffe and kill it by piercing the jugular vein.
Births are most common during November and December, with the gestation period
lasting about nine weeks. The estrus phase is thought to be very short, lasting
perhaps only one day with the female being receptive for only five to ten hours.
A male must therefore be in the immediate vicinity if successful mating is to
occur. Contact is made easier by the loud meowing cry that enables them to keep
in touch even when widely separated. This alarmingly loud cry has been described
as the "very high-pitched roar of a tiny tiger." Apparently, if it is
recorded and played at half-speed it sounds remarkably like a tiger's roar.
The female will give birth typically to two kittens in an underground burrow.
The kittens are born with pink rather than black feet, with this characteristic
coloration only becoming apparent when they are about six weeks old. They develop
quite rapidly, and their eyes open by the time they are eight days old. They may
be able to walk at just two weeks of age, and a week later are likely to be venturing
forth from the nest on their own. They are running well by six weeks old, but
tend to remain close to the mother. She may move them as they grow older, concealing
them under bushes perhaps while she is hunting. They are all very much at risk
from predators because of their small size.
One rather specialized defense mechanism the kittens possess is the scatter reaction
to a maternal alarm call. When the mother senses danger, she gives a special cry
and her young ones dart off in different directions and hide. In this way, if
a predator finds and kills one, the other one (or more) will escape and survive.
When the danger has passed, the mother has yet another special signal, this time
an "all-clear" signal. It is a unique, barely audible staccato call,
accompanied by ear-twitching, in which the half-flattened ears are raised and
lowered in synchrony. Her kittens respond to this by emerging from hiding and
rejoining her.
Purring is a particular feature of the Black-footed Cat, and the young are able
to purr from birth. There are reports that this species will hybridize easily
with domestic cats, and are recorded to have bred with a local subspecies of the
African wild cat in southern Africa. |
| BLACK-FOOTED
CAT PHOTOS |
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