The
black-footed cat (
Felis nigripes) is a small wild
catFelidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the sixteen mammal families in the order Carnivora...
distributed over
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
,
NamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in Southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the east, and South Africa to the south and east...
,
BotswanaThe Republic of Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and marginally into
ZimbabweZimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers...
. The
habitatA habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular animal and plant species...
s of this cat species are
aridA region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
semi-desert and
savannahSavannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-Software:* GNU Savannah, an aggregation of software development projects affiliated with the GNU project-Places in the USA:...
, like the
KarooThe Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub-regions - the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The 'High' Karoo is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger South African Platform division.-Great Karoo:The Great Karoo has an area of...
and parts of the
highveldThe Highveld is a high plateau region of South Africa which is largely home to the largest metropolitan area in the country, the Gauteng City Region, which accounts for one-third of South Africa's population. The Highveld constitutes parts of the Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, and Limpopo...
, but it is only sparsely distributed in the
Kalahari DesertThe Kalahari Desert is a large arid to semi-arid sandy area in Southern Africa extending , covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa, as semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains. The Kalahari Desert is the southern part of Africa, and the geography...
. Some authors state that it may be relatively common in parts of its range, however, mostly it is considered rare and it was recently listed as vulnerable in the
IUCN Red ListThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1948, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is the world's main authority on the conservation...
.
With an average mass of 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) it is one of the smallest living species of cats.
The
black-footed cat (
Felis nigripes) is a small wild
catFelidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the sixteen mammal families in the order Carnivora...
distributed over
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
,
NamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in Southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the east, and South Africa to the south and east...
,
BotswanaThe Republic of Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and marginally into
ZimbabweZimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers...
. The
habitatA habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular animal and plant species...
s of this cat species are
aridA region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
semi-desert and
savannahSavannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-Software:* GNU Savannah, an aggregation of software development projects affiliated with the GNU project-Places in the USA:...
, like the
KarooThe Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub-regions - the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The 'High' Karoo is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger South African Platform division.-Great Karoo:The Great Karoo has an area of...
and parts of the
highveldThe Highveld is a high plateau region of South Africa which is largely home to the largest metropolitan area in the country, the Gauteng City Region, which accounts for one-third of South Africa's population. The Highveld constitutes parts of the Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, and Limpopo...
, but it is only sparsely distributed in the
Kalahari DesertThe Kalahari Desert is a large arid to semi-arid sandy area in Southern Africa extending , covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa, as semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains. The Kalahari Desert is the southern part of Africa, and the geography...
. Some authors state that it may be relatively common in parts of its range, however, mostly it is considered rare and it was recently listed as vulnerable in the
IUCN Red ListThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1948, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is the world's main authority on the conservation...
.
Description
With an average mass of 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) it is one of the smallest living species of cats. Females have an average weight of 1.3 kg (2.9 lb), males 1.9 kg (4.2 lb). The head-body length is 36-52 cm (14-21 in), plus 13-20 cm (5-8 in) of tail and a shoulder height of about 25 cm (10 in). The head appears over-sized relative to the rest of the body. The
furFur is a synonym for hair, used more commonly in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensive body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to...
is cinnamon buff to tawny or off-white with distinct solid blackish spots which are joined to bands behind the shoulders and that form rings around the legs and tail. As the name implies, the soles of the feet are black. The black-footed cat is a
solitarySolitary may refer to:* shortened form of solitary confinement in jail* Solitary , an episode of the TV series Lost* Solitary , a reality show made by FOX* Solitary , 2008 album by Don Dokken...
animal and is active at night and thus rarely seen. In the daytime it hides in
springhareThe springhare , or springhaas, is not actually a hare, but a member of the order Rodentia; it is the only species in its family Pedetidae and in the genus Pedetes. Synonyms are P. caffer or P...
(
Pedetes capensis)
burrowA burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the...
s, under rock slabs and shrubs, and within hollow
termiteThe termites are a group of eusocial insects usually classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera . Along with ants and some bees and wasps which are all placed in the separate order Hymenoptera, termites divide labour among gender lines, produce overlapping generations and take care of...
mounds.
Diet and hunting
Due to its small size, the black-footed cat hunts mainly small prey species like
rodentRodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s and small
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
s, but may also take the
White-quilled BustardThe White-quilled Bustard is a species of bird in the Otididae family....
and the
cape hareThe Cape, Common or Brown Hare is a hare natively found throughout Africa, and has spread to many parts of the Europe, Middle East and Asia, and was introduced to Australia. The Cape Hare is a nocturnal herbivore.They are fast...
, the latter heavier than itself.
InsectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s and
spiderSpiders are air-breathing chelicerate arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae modified into fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s provide less than 1% of the prey mass consumed. The black-footed cat is a shy animal that seeks refuge at the slightest disturbance. However, when cornered it is known to defend itself fiercely. Due to this habit and its courage it is called the "miershooptier" (anthill tiger) in parts of the South African Karoo, although it rarely uses termite mounds for cover and for bearing its young.
A
SanThe indigenous people of southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Basarwa, Kung, or Khwe...
legend claims that the black-footed cat can kill a
giraffeThe giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant. It is covered in large, irregular patches of yellow to black fur separated by white, off-white, or dark yellowish brown background. The average mass for an adult male...
by piercing its jugular. This exaggeration is intended to emphasize the bravery and tenacity of the animal.
Within one year a female covers an average range of , a territorial male . The range of an adult male overlaps the ranges of 1-4 females The animal travels per night in search of prey.
Energy requirementsMetabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms to maintain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories. Catabolism breaks down organic matter,...
are very high, with about of prey per night consumed, which is about a sixth of its average body weight.
Reproduction
A
litterA litter is the offspring at one birth of animals from the same mother and usually from one set of parents. The word is most often used for the offspring of mammals, but can be used for any animal that gives birth to multiple young...
consists usually of two kittens, but may vary from one to four young. A female may have up to two litters during the southern hemisphere spring, summer and autumn. Kittens become independent with about 5 months of age but may still remain within their mother's range.
There are possibly two subspecies: the smaller and paler
Felis nigripes nigripes in the northern parts of southern Africa, and
Felis nigripes thomasi, slightly larger and of darker colour, distributed in the south-east of South Africa. Specimens with characteristics of both subspecies are found close to Kimberley, central South Africa, where these distinctions break down.
External links