The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) is one of the smallest wild cat species in the world and the smallest in Africa, weighing about 1–2.5 kg and measuring roughly 36–52 cm in body length. Despite its tiny size, it is an exceptionally efficient nocturnal predator with one of the highest hunting success rates among cats, often making multiple successful kills per night.

Appearance and size

• Coat is tawny to cinnamon with dense dark brown or black spots that may form stripes on the legs, chest, and tail.

• Only the soles of the feet are black or dark brown, giving the species its name, and the undersides of the paws are furred to protect against hot sand.

• Adults typically stand about 20 cm tall at the shoulder and weigh roughly 2–5 lb (1–2.5 kg), with a short, banded, black-tipped tail.

Habitat and range

• Black-footed cats live in arid regions of southern Africa, including scrub deserts, semi-desert grasslands, and open, sandy plains.

• They occur mainly in South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, where they use abandoned burrows and termite mounds for shelter during the day.

Behavior and hunting

• They are strictly nocturnal, resting in burrows by day and traveling 5–16 km (3–10 miles) per night while hunting.

• Hunting techniques include fast walking to flush prey, slow stalks through grass, and waiting motionless at rodent burrows; they can kill up to around a dozen small animals in a single night and often succeed in a high percentage of their hunting attempts.

Diet and ecology

• Their diet includes small rodents, shrews, small birds (even catching some in midair), insects, spiders, and small reptiles.

• As mid-sized predators in their ecosystems, they help control populations of small mammals and other prey species in dry grassland and desert habitats.

Reproduction and conservation

• Females usually give birth to 1–2 kittens in underground dens, most often in the Southern Hemisphere summer (around October–March), and the young are weaned at about two months and independent by three to four months.

• The species is considered vulnerable or near threatened locally due to habitat loss, persecution, and low population densities, with a decreasing population trend reported in parts of its range.