The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes), also called the small-spotted cat, is the smallest wild cat in Africa, having a head-and-body length of . Despite its name, only the soles of its feet are black or dark brown. With its bold small spots and stripes on the tawny fur, it is well camouflaged, especially on moonlit nights. It bears black streaks running from the corners of the eyes along the cheeks, and its banded tail has a black tip.
The first black-footed cat known to science was discovered in the northern Karoo of South Africa and described in 1824. It is endemic to the arid steppes and grassland savannas of Southern Africa. It was recorded in southern Botswana, but only a few authentic records exist in Namibia, in southern Angola and in southern Zimbabwe. Due to its restricted distribution, it has been listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2002. The population is suspected to be declining due to poaching of prey species for human consumption as bushmeat, persecution, traffic accidents, and predation by herding dogs.
The black-footed cat has been studied using radio telemetry since 1993. This research allowed direct observation of its behaviour in its natural habitat. It usually rests in burrows during the day and hunts at night. It moves between on average in search of small rodents and birds. It feeds on 40 different vertebrates and kills up to 14 small animals per night. It can catch birds in flight, jumping up to high, and also attacks mammals and birds much heavier than itself. A female usually gives birth to two kittens during the Southern Hemisphere summer between October and March. They are weaned at the age of two months and become independent after four months of age at the latest.
Taxonomy and phylogeny The scientific name Felis nigripes was used by the British explorer William John Burchell in 1824 when he described the species based on skins of small, spotted cats that he encountered near Litákun (now known as Dithakong), in South Africa. Felis (Microfelis) nigripes thomasi was proposed as a subspecies by the South African mammalogist Guy C. Shortridge in 1931, who described black-footed cat skins collected in Griqualand West that were darker than those of the nominate subspecies. When the British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock reviewed cat skins in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London, he corroborated that the black-footed cat is a Felis species.
The validity of a subspecies was doubted as no geographical barriers matching the observed differences exist between populations. In 2017, the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and noted that the black-footed cat is most probably a monotypic species.
Phylogeny and evolution Phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear DNA from all Felidae species revealed that their evolutionary radiation began in Asia in the Miocene around . Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates that they radiated at around .
The black-footed cat is part of an evolutionary lineage that is estimated to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor of all Felis species around , based on analysis of their nuclear DNA. Analysis of their mitochondrial DNA indicates a genetic divergence of Felis species at around . Both models agree on the jungle cat (F. chaus) having been the first Felis species that diverged, followed by the black-footed cat.
Fossil remains of the black-footed cat have not been found. It possibly migrated during the Pleistocene into Africa. This migration was possibly facilitated by extended periods of low sea levels between Asia and Africa.
The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic relationships of the black-footed cat as derived through analysis of nuclear DNA:
Characteristics
The black-footed cat has tawny fur that is entirely covered with black spots. Its head is darker than the rest of the body but paler above the eyes. Its whiskers are white, and its ears bear grizzled dark brown hairs. On the neck and back, some spots are elongated into stripes. The spots form transverse stripes on the shoulders. The forelegs and the hind legs bear irregular stripes. Its tail is confusedly spotted. The underparts of the feet are black or dark brown. The throat rings form black semi-circles that vary in colour from dusky brown to pale rufous and are narrowly edged with rufous. Some individuals have a pure white belly with a tawny tinge where it blends into the tawny colour of the flanks. The ears, eyes and mouth are lined with pale off-white. Two black streaks run from the corners of the eyes across the cheeks. Individuals vary in background colour from sandy and pale ochre to dark ochre. In the northern part of its range, it is lighter than in the southern part, where its spots and bands are more clearly defined. The three rings on the throat are reddish brown to black, with the third ring broken in some individuals. The black bands are broad on the upper legs and become narrower towards the paws. The long guard hairs are gray at the base and have either white or dark tips. The underfur is dense with short and wavy hair. The fur becomes thicker and longer during winter. The pupils of the eyes contract to a vertical slit, like in all Felis species. They are light green to dark yellow.
The black-footed cat is the smallest cat species in Africa. Females measure in head and body length with a long tail. Males are between with a long tail. Its tapering tail is about half the length of the head and body. Its skull is short and round with a basal length of and a width of . The ear canal and the openings of the ears are larger than in most Felis species. The cheek teeth are long and the upper carnassials long. It has small pointed ears ranging from in females and in males. The hindfoot of females measures maximum and of males maximum . Its shoulder height is less than . Females weigh and males .
The African wildcat (Felis lybica) is almost three times as large as the black-footed cat, has longer legs, a longer tail and mostly plain grey fur with less distinct markings. The serval (Leptailurus serval) resembles the black-footed cat in coat colour and pattern, but has proportionately larger ears, longer legs and a longer tail.
Distribution and habitat The black-footed cat is endemic to Southern Africa; its distribution is much more restricted than other small cats in this region. Its range extends from South Africa northward into southern Botswana, where it was recorded in the late 1960s. It has also been recorded in Namibia, extreme southern Angola and southern Zimbabwe. It is unlikely to occur in Lesotho and Eswatini. It inhabits open, arid savannas and semi-arid shrubland in the Karoo and the southwestern Kalahari with short grasses, low bush cover, and scattered clumps of low bush and higher grasses. The mean annual precipitation in this region ranges from . In the Drakensberg area, it was recorded at an elevation of .
Behaviour and ecology
The black-footed cat is nocturnal and usually solitary, except when females care for dependent kittens. It spends the day resting in hollow termite mounds and dense cover in unoccupied burrows of South African springhare (Pedetes capensis), aardvark (Orycteropus afer), and Cape porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis). It digs vigorously to extend or modify these burrows for shelter. After sunset, it emerges to hunt. It seeks refuge at the slightest disturbance and often uses termite mounds for cover or for bearing its young. When cornered, it defends itself fiercely. Due to this habit and its courage, it is called in parts of the South African Karoo, meaning 'anthill tiger'. A San legend claims that a black-footed cat can kill a giraffe by piercing its jugular. This exaggeration is intended to emphasize its bravery and tenacity.
Unlike most other cats, it is a poor climber, as its stocky body and short tail are thought not to be conducive for climbing trees. However, one black-footed cat was observed and photographed resting in the lower branches of a camelthorn tree (Vachellia erioloba).
A female roams in an average home range of in a year, and a resident male in an area of . The range of an adult male overlaps the ranges of one to four females. It uses scent marking throughout its range. Receptive females were observed spraying urine up to 41 times in a stretch of . They sprayed less frequently during pregnancy. Other forms of scent marking include rubbing objects, raking with claws, and depositing faeces in visible locations. Its calls are louder than those of other cats of its size, presumably to allow calls to be heard over relatively large distances. When close to each other, however, it uses quieter purrs or gurgles; when threatened, it hisses and growls. Adults move an average of per night in search of prey. It is difficult to survey because of its highly secretive nature; moreover, it tends to move fast without using roads or tracks like other cats. In South Africa, a density of was estimated in Benfontein near Kimberley during 1998 to 1999, that fell to during 2005 to 2014. Farther south, in the Nuwejaarsfontein area, the estimated number of individuals during 2009 to 2014 was . These were probably exceptionally high densities, as both areas feature good weather and management conditions, while the number of individuals in less favourable habitats could be closer to .
Hunting and diet
The black-footed cat hunts at night irrespective of the weather, at temperatures from . It attacks its prey from the rear, puts its forepaws on its flanks and grounds the prey using its dewclaws. It employs three different ways of hunting: "fast hunt", "slow hunt", and "sit and wait" hunt. In a fast hunt, it moves at a speed of and chases prey out of vegetation cover. During a slow hunt, it stalks the prey at a speed of , meandering cautiously through the grass and vigilantly checking its surroundings while turning its head side to side. It moves between on average in search of small rodents and birds, mostly moving in small circles and zig-zagging among bushes and termite mounds. In a "sit and wait" hunt, it waits for the prey motionlessly in front of a rodent den, sometimes with closed eyes. Its ears keep moving, and it opens the eyes as soon as it hears a sound.
Due to its small size, the black-footed cat hunts mainly small prey such as rodents and small birds, but also preys on Cape hare (Lepus capensis), being heavier than itself. Its energy requirement is very high, with about of prey consumed per night, which is about a sixth of its average body weight. It is able to satisfy its daily water requirements through its prey, but drinks water when available.
Black-footed cats have been observed to attempt catching 10 vertebrates in five hours of hunting, with a mean of six successful attempts.