habitat_narrative
Terrestrial
The Black-footed Cat is one of the worldâs smallest cats, with females weighing an average of 1.3 kg and males larger at 1.93 kg (Sliwa 2013). The conspecific and more common African Wildcat (Felis silvestris) is considerably larger (females 3.9 kg; males 5.1 kg) (Sliwa et al. 2010). Unlike most cat species, these cats are predominantly ground-dwellers and will not readily take to trees. They lead a solitary existence except when with kittens or during brief mating periods. Black-footed Cats are extremely secretive in nature. They are strictly crepuscular and nocturnal and are active throughout the night, even hunting at temperatures of -8ËC (Olbricht & Sliwa 1997). During the day, the cats make use of dens. The species prefers hollowed out abandoned termite mounds when available (especially for the kittens, Figure 3), but will use dens dug by other animals such as Springhares, Cape Ground Squirrels (Xerus inauris) and Aardvark (Orycteropus afer). It is a specialist of open, short grass areas with an abundance of small rodents and ground-roosting birds. It inhabits dry, open savannah, grasslands and Karoo semi-desert with sparse shrub and tree cover and a mean annual rainfall of between 100 and 500 mm at altitudes up to 2,000 m asl. It is not found in the driest and sandiest parts of the Namib and Kalahari Deserts (Sliwa 2013).Black-footed Cats mate year round but with a distinct season from late winter (August) over the summer months up to March. Up to two litters a year may be produced, with one to four kittens (normally two) born after 63â68 day gestation inside a burrow or hollow termitarium (Olbricht & Sliwa 1997; Skinner & Chimimba 2005). Births are timed to coincide with rains and food availability. Kittens are independent after 3â4 months, but remain within the range of their mother for extended periods (Sliwa 2013). Whilst they are reported to live up to 16 years in captive situations, life expectancy in the wild is about five years (Black-footed Cat Working Group unpubl. data), although two monitored individuals lived at least seven years (Sliwa et al. 2014).
As with most small cat species, Black-footed Cats are obligate carnivores. During a 6-year field study on the game farm in central South Africa, 1,725 prey items were observed consumed by 17 free-ranging habituated individuals (Sliwa 2006). Average prey size was 24.1 g. Eight males fed on significantly larger prey (27.9 g) than 9 females (20.8 g). Fifty-four prey species were classified by their average mass into eight different size classes, three for mammals, three for birds, one for amphibians/reptiles, and one for invertebrates. Small mammals (5â40 g) constituted the most important prey class (39%) of total prey biomass followed by larger mammals (> 100 g; 17%) and small birds (< 40 g; 16%). Mammals and birds pooled comprised 72% and 26% of total prey biomass, respectively, whereas invertebrates and amphibians/reptiles combined constituted just 2% of total prey mass consumed. Heterotherm prey items were unavailable during winter, when larger birds and mammals (> 100 g) were mainly consumed. Small rodents like the Large-eared Mouse (Malacothrix typica), captured 595 times by both sexes, were particularly important during the reproductive season for females with kittens. Males showed less variation between prey size classes consumed among climatic seasons. This sex-specific difference in prey size consumption may help to reduce intra-specific competition (Sliwa 2006). In terms of interspecific competition, Sliwa et al. (2010) found that Black-footed Cats captured smaller prey on average than African Wildcats, although both captured approximately the same number (12â13) of prey animals per night.
Of 17 radio-collared Black-footed Cats (7 males, 10 females) studied at Benfontein Game Farm, Northern Cape Province, from 1997 to 1998, the home ranges of adult resident males averaged 16.1â20.7 km2 while those of females were 8.6â10 km2, where male home ranges overlapped with those of females by 60â67% (Sliwa 2004). Despite this overlap, all individuals hunted solitarily. Similarly, annual home range sizes of Black-footed Cats were 7.1 km2 for an adult female, and 15.6 and 21.3 km2 for two adult males monitored at Benfontein Game Farm, Nothern Cape Province, from 2006 to 2008 (Kamler et al. 2015). Since range size is dependent on available prey resources, in more arid regions these home ranges can be considerably larger. Both sexes spray mark, particularly during mating season, when spray marks are deployed in proportion to intensity of use and may play a role in social spacing (Molteno et al. 1998; Sliwa et al. 2010). Adults travel an average of 8.42 ± 2.09 km per night â a greater distance than the African Wildcat (5.1 ± 3.4 km per night) despite their smaller size (Sliwa et al. 2007).
Ecosystem and cultural services:
- A Khoisan legend tells of a Black-footed Cat that took down a Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) by piercing its jugular (Sunquist & Sunquist 2002), which serves only to emphasis the ferocity and courage contained in such a tiny cat.
- This species has the potential to be an iconic flagship species of southern Africa, particularly in the Karoo region.
- Individuals can consume large amounts of rodents each year (Figure 4), making this species highly beneficial to agricultural and livestock farmers where rodents are considered problematic
- As an enigmatic species, it is a highly prized species to be seen in the wild by mammal watchers and felid enthusiasts
