Black-footed Cat

Black-footed Cat[1]
Conservation status

Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Felis
Species: F. nigripes
Binomial name
Felis nigripes
Burchell, 1824
subspecies
  • Felis nigripes nigripes (Burchell, 1824)
  • Felis nigripes thomasi (Shortridge, 1931)

The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) is is the smallest African cat and endemic in the south west arid zone of the southern African subregion. Being one of the lesser studied African carnivores it has been listed as vulnerable only in 2002.[2][3]

Contents

Description

Close-up of a Black-footed Cat at the Wuppertal Zoo

The black-footed cat is one of the smallest cat species. Males weigh 1.9 kilograms (4.2 lb) on average, females only about 1.3 kilograms (2.9 lb).[3] The head-body length is 36 to 49 centimetres (14 to 19 in), plus 13 to 20 centimetres (5.1 to 7.9 in) of tail and a shoulder height of about 25 centimetres (9.8 in).

Only the pads and underparts of its feet are black. The fur varies in color from cinnamon-buff to tawny and is patterned with black or brown spots that merge to form rings on the legs, neck and tail. The skin however is unpigmented pink, unlike that of other spotted cats. The backs of the rounded ears are the same color as the background coat color. The eyes are very large.[4]

Distribution and habitat

The black-footed cat is distributed over South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and marginally into Zimbabwe and in extreme southern Angola. It lives in dry, open savanna, grassland and Karoo semi-desert with shrub and tree cover at altitudes of up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), but not in the driest and sandiest parts of the Namib and Kalahari Deserts.[2]

Behavior

The black-footed cat is a solitary, strictly nocturnal animal, and is thus rarely seen. In the daytime it hides in springhare burrows, under rock slabs and shrubs, and within hollow termite mounds. It prefers semi-arid environments with some degree of vegetation cover.[4]

Unlike most other cats, the black-footed cat is a poor climber, and will generally ignore tree branches and the like. However, they will dig vigorously in the sand to extend or modify burrows for shelter.[4]

The Black-footed Cat is a highly unsociable 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 San legend claims that the Black-footed Cat can kill a giraffe 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 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi), a territorial male 22 km2 (8.5 sq mi). The range of an adult male overlaps the ranges of 1-4 females[3] On average, the animal travels 8 km (5 mi) per night in search of prey. The cats use scent marking throughout their range, with males spraying urine up to twelve times an hour. Other forms of scent marking include rubbing objects, raking with claws and depositing faeces in visible locations. Their calls are louder than for other cats of their size, presumably to allow them to call over relatively large distances. However, when close to each other, the use quieter purrs or gurgles, or hiss and growl if threatened.[4]

Diet and hunting

Adult black-footed cat resting

Due to its small size, the Black-footed Cat hunts mainly small prey species like rodents and small birds, but may also take the White-quilled Bustard and the cape hare, the latter heavier than itself. Insects and spiders provide less than 1% of the prey mass consumed.[5][6] They are unusually active hunters, killing up to fourteen small animals in a night. Their energy requirements are very high, with about 250 grams (9 oz) of prey per night consumed, which is about a sixth of its average body weight.[4]

Like the Sand Cat, the Black-footed Cat does not need to drink water, and obtains sufficient moisture from its diet,[7] although they will drink when water is available.

Black-footed cats hunt mainly by stalking, rather than ambush, using the cover of darkness and all available traces of cover to approach their prey before the final pounce. They have been observed to sometimes hunt by moving swiftly to flush prey from cover, and at other times to slowly stalk through tufts of vegetation. Less commonly, they will wait outside rodent burrows, often with their eyes closed, but remaining alert for the slightest sound.[8] In common with the big cats, but unlike most other small species, black-footed cats have been observed to hide some of their captured prey for later feeding, rather than consuming it immediately.[5]

Reproduction and life cycle

The females come into oestrus for only one or two days at a time, requiring males to locate them quickly in their sparse, semidesert environment. Furthermore, the female is only receptive to mating for a few hours, and copulation occurs frequently during this period. Gestation lasts from 63 to 68 days.[4] A female may have up to two litters during the southern hemisphere spring, summer and autumn.

A litter consists usually of two kittens, but may vary from one to three young. The kittens weigh 60 to 84 grams (2.1 to 3.0 oz) at birth.[7] Like other cats, they are born blind and relatively helpless, although they are able to crawl about after just a few hours. They are able to walk within two weeks, begin taking solid food after about a month, and are fully weaned by two months. The mother rears the kittens in a burrow, moving them to new locations regularly after the first week. In general, the kittens develop more rapidly than in other similarly sized cats, quickly adapting them to a relatively hostile environment.[4]

Kittens become independent by 5 months of age but may remain within their mother's range. Females reach sexual maturity after eight to twelve months, and black-footed cats have lived for ten years in captivity.[4]

Subspecies

There are two subspecies of this cat:

F.n. nigripes is the smaller and paler of the subspecies, with F.n. thomasi slightly larger and of darker color. Specimens with characteristics of both subspecies are found close to Kimberley, central South Africa, where these distinctions break down.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Wozencraft, W. Christopher (16 November 2005). "Order Carnivora (pp. 532-628)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 536. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000054. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sliwa, A. (2008). Felis nigripes. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 22 March 2009. Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Sliwa, A. (2004) Home range size and social organisation of black-footed cats (Felis nigripes). Mammalian Biology 69 (2): 96-107
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Sunquist, Mel; Sunquist, Fiona (2002). Wild cats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 85-84. ISBN 0-226-77999-8. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sliwa, A. (1994). "Black-footed cat studies in South Africa". Cat News 20: 15–19. 
  6. ↑ Sliwa, A. (2006). "Seasonal and sex-specific prey composition of black-footed cats Felis nigripes". Acta Theriologica 51 (2): 195–204. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/25.shtml
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Olbricht, G., Sliwa, A. (1997) "In situ and ex situ observations and management of Black-footed cats Felis nigripes." International Zoo Yearbook 35: 81-89

External links