The smallest cat in Africa can be called a "killing machine", its hunting efficiency exceeds that of a liger, and it is banned all over the world

Cats have always been a class of animals that have attracted a lot of attention. They have both appearance and strength. Naturally, ligers, tigers and leopards need not be said. Look at the cat below. Most people who are not familiar with it will think that this is just a cat. They are just ordinary domestic cats, nothing unusual. In fact, you are wrong. They look like "cute girls", but they can actually "mix society" with ligers, tigers and leopards, and their strength should not be underestimated.

01 Soft appearance makes you laugh

Among the cats, black-footed cats belong to the smallest category. Their name comes from the black markings under their feet, which are closely related to the environment in which they live.

Black-footed cats are mainly distributed in the bushes and semi-desert areas of southern Africa. They have thick pads on the soles of their feet, but their pads are not black. The blackness mainly comes from the black long hairs on the soles of their feet. Let them walk freely in the hot and scorching sand without getting burned.

Black-footed cats are closely related to jungle cats and dune cats. They are the smallest wild cats in Africa, with an average weight of only 1.6 kg and a body length of about 40 cm. Males are slightly larger than females.

From a distance, the black-footed cat is about the size of a domestic cat. It is covered with cinnamon or brown long hair, with black spots in the middle, round ears, and a pair of round eyes that are clear and flawless. It looks like a soft mass. The soft plush toy is of the right size, just right to be held with both hands. For "cat slaves", even across the screen, they can't wait to touch and hug.

But this kind of thinking really can only be thought about. The following introduction, after you read it, I believe you will not dare to touch it even if you have ten courage.

02 Wild and domineering, make you admire

I once watched a documentary "Big Cat". This documentary introduced many powerful cats, such as the common African lions, leopards and other large cats, and also specially introduced this soft and cute looking cat. Member: Black-footed cat.

Not to mention how powerful black-footed cats are, since they can be compared with ligers and leopards, they must be recorded in the documentary "Big Cat".

In fact, their strength is indeed superior, and their lethality can be described as lethal.

In order to avoid the sweltering heat during the day, black-footed cats have developed the habit of nocturnal activities and are typical night owls.

In the desert night, after the sun sets, there is no sun to bake, and the temperature drops rapidly. The black-footed cats that have been dormant for a day and slept all day are thirsty and hungry. eat.

Although the sun has just set, the temperature is still very high, which is unbearable for humans, especially the surface temperature. However, black-footed cats have their own beautiful and practical black shoes, and this temperature is not difficult for them.

However, the plants in the semi-desert area are scarce. In contrast, there are very few animals that can survive here, not to mention the animals that can survive in such a desolate place, all of them have unique skills.

Therefore, it is not so easy for black-footed cats to fill their stomachs here.

Fortunately, the black-footed cat has various skills.

One is endurance. The stamina of the black-footed cat is very good. The black-footed cat that went out this day was not very lucky. After walking a long distance, he only caught a single mouse. This food is only enough to stuff his teeth. Although foot cats are not big, they consume a lot of energy. They must prey on food equivalent to one-fifth of their body weight in one night, otherwise they will wake up hungry the next day when they fall asleep, which is the last thing they want. thing. Therefore, in order to hunt for more food, this black-footed cat traveled a full 30 kilometers, and its endurance is amazing. According to scientists' radio telemetry data, a female black-footed cat can have a range of up to 12 square kilometers, while a male's range is slightly larger.

The second is speed. According to incomplete statistics, the hunting efficiency of black-footed cats is as high as 60%. In simple terms, 6 of the 10 prey are captured by black-footed cats. Such beautiful data is even more perfect than the large cats, ligers, leopards, and leopards. This is inseparable from their speed. In the wild, it is difficult for infrared cameras to capture their silhouettes, and they can only be seen after they have successfully preyed and enjoyed it. Delicious picture. When encountering prey, the black-footed cat will quickly jump up and bite the throat of the prey until the veins in the neck are pierced by their sharp teeth, then they will let go, and then slowly enjoy the food.

The third is bravery. In addition to being fast, black-footed cats are also accurate and ruthless in their prey. Jumping up and biting the deadly place of the prey, such a high hunting efficiency, are all heroic and resolute performances.

Of course, in addition to these, black-footed cats have excellent night vision and keen hearing, which are all magic weapons for them to survive in the desert.

03 Three fatal tricks, the tricks are effective

To sum up, the hunting skills of black-footed cats have three tricks.

The first move: quick attack. In the process of searching for prey, black-footed cats will quickly attack from hiding places such as grasses, hit the key points, and easily take down the prey once they find the prey.

The second trick: hibernate and wait. As mentioned earlier, black-footed cats have very strong endurance, which is not only reflected in their ability to travel long distances, but also in that they are patiently squatting for the prey. In the place where you squat, you will squat for 2 hours, just for a delicious prey.

The third trick: wait for the rabbit. This move is similar to the second move, but the location of the squat is different.

It is precisely because of these three tricks that the black-footed cat is rarely hungry, after all, the strength is there.

More than that, although black-footed cats usually eat the most rodents, they can eat 3,000 mice a year, but they can also hunt prey several times larger than themselves. For example, antelope, a black-footed cat can kill a duiker four times its size in one move.

In the eyes of Botswana residents, black-footed cats are very ferocious. They believe that black-footed cats can kill an adult giraffe, but so far there is no evidence to confirm this, but their ferociousness is beyond doubt.

04 Epilogue

As powerful as black-footed cats are, like most felines, their situation is not optimistic. They have a small distribution range and are already rare in number, and their numbers are constantly decreasing due to human hunting and human activities.

Another threat is that the crossbreeding of black-footed cats with domestic cats is slowly diluting their pedigree. If not controlled, purebred black-footed cats may disappear in the future.