Gaia, a little African cat with black paws, celebrated her first birthday with delicious treats.
The kitty, which may look cute, is actually one of the deadliest in the world. The black-footed cat is the smallest species of wild cat in Africa and known for its reputation as a killer.
Keepers at Utah’s Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City note that Gaia species have a 60% success rate in hunting, compared to other big cats where a 20% success rate is the norm.
In a cute video posted to Instagram, Gaia can be seen hunting around her enclosure for carefully hidden cat treats as part of her birthday celebrations.
Gaia, a small African black-footed cat, celebrated her first birthday at Utah’s Hogle Zoo with delicious treats
Despite its adorable appearance, it belongs to one of the deadliest cat species in Africa, known for its remarkable hunting abilities with a 60% success rate.
Videos show Gaia searching for hidden treats and showing her formidable teeth
In another video released by the zoo earlier this month, Gaia lets out a huge growl in which her fanged teeth are clearly visible.
The video is aptly captioned “When people keep calling you cute, even though you’re one of the deadliest cats.”
According to the Hogle Zoo, black-footed cats can eat around 3,000 rodents per year in their natural habitat.
Bob Cisneros, associate director of Animal Care, describes Gaia as a “pretty feisty cat” and a “mighty warrior.”
The young feline is currently put on a strict diet of ground bones, muscles and skeletal organs, as well as “occasional mice that have already been humanely euthanized by zoo feeders.”
Black-footed cats, although small, are agile hunters found in arid regions of Africa, earning them the nickname “anthill tiger.”
The cat has been at the Utah Zoo for six months
Gaia munching on a bone, which is part of the strict and specific diet she follows.
Despite Gaia’s extremely modest appearance, black-footed cats are considered among the deadliest cats in the world.
“These guys are voracious hunters. They have a reputation for being a very fierce cat,” Cisneros said.
Despite their miniature stature, blackfoots can jump up to five feet in the air and six and a half feet away.
Black-footed cats are native to Africa and are mainly found in the arid regions of eastern Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. It is the smallest species of wild cat present on the continent.
In Afrikaans, they are called “anthill tigers”.
Gaia is one of four black-footed kittens from her litter at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas. She was moved to her new home in Utah last October.
The zoo took her in on a breeding recommendation from the Black-Footed Cat Consortium.
Hogle Zoo is already home to a male black-footed cat named Ryder who they plan to introduce to Gaia in the future.
“Gaia’s introduction to Ryder, the male black-footed cat, is planned, but we will let these two feline friends get to know each other when Gaia reaches maturity,” the zoo said earlier this year.
Gaia will soon be introduced to a male cat in hopes the pair will breed
The very cute cat arrived at the Hogle Zoo in Utah in October
The animals can catch more prey than leopards in a six-month period.
They can also defend themselves against animals “eight times their size”.
Black-footed cats are adept at camouflage while hunting, and they also have a keen sense of hearing and night vision.
Although these cats are avid hunters, their species was listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2002.
As of 2019, there were only about 10,000 black-footed cats left in the wild and 28 of them were in North America.
“One of our goals is to raise awareness about the species as a whole, because we really need the public’s support,” said Janice Thompson, a veterinary technician at Hogle.
“It is the rarest African cat. We are working very hard to increase their numbers.
“Fossil Rim (in Texas) is having great success with their breeding program,” Thompson said.
“Part of the reason is that it’s behind the scenes and the cats have a lot of privacy.”
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