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Felis nigripes, the African black-footed cat, stands at just 8 to 10
inches tall and weighs roughly 200 times less than the average lion, but
it is actually the most efficient feline predator on the planet.
The black-footed cat is actually the smallest African feline, smaller
even than the average alley cat, but you shouldn’t be fooled by its
demure stature, because it is actually the deadliest of all the world’s
felines. This adorable furball has an accelerated metabolism that
requires it to hunt almost non-stop, which means that it kills an
average of 10 to 14 rodents or small birds every night, more victims
than a leopard hunts in a month. To top it all off, its predations
success is around 60 percent, while lions only succeed in catching their
victims about 20 to 25 percent of the time.
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To us humans, and even to large animals like wildebeests, the African
black-footed cat is not a concern, but to the smaller inhabitants of the
savannas, they are a true nightmare. Its excellent night vision and
hearing turns “almost anything that moves into a potential meal, and the
chances of escaping it are slim.
Black-footed cats are found only in three countries of southern Africa:
Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and the species is considered rare
compared to other cats on the African continent. They prefer grass
plains, scrub desert, and sand plains, areas with high rodent and bird
densities.
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According to the International Society for Endangered Cats, a single
African black-footed cat can hunt and eat up to 3,000 rodents a year.
There is even a native African legend that claims black-footed cats can
bring down giraffes. It’s obviously just a myth, but it pays homage to
the tenacity of this deceptively cute natural-born killer.
Unfortunately, the African black-footed tat faces several man-made
threats, from destruction of habitat, to a reduced prey base, both
caused especially by overgrazing by cattle.
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