SALT LAKE CITY — At first look, this cat appears like a innocent tabby. But the African black-footed cat, whereas standing solely 8 to 10 inches tall, is the deadliest wild cat on the earth.
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Gaia is the latest resident of the Small Animal Building at Utah’s Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, KTVX reported.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, this species of cat — often called Felis nigripes — has a 60% success price as a hunter.
“Weighing in at just under 3 pounds and boasting the biggest eyes you’ve ever seen, she may look adorable, but looks can be deceiving,” the zoo wrote in a Facebook put up.
It weighs 200 occasions lower than a lion, however the black-footed cat is able to capturing extra prey in a single evening than a leopard does over a six-month interval, the journal reported.
Zoo officers are touting Gaia’s arrival as an necessary step within the conservation of her species, KTVX reported. Black-footed cats will be discovered within the arid jap areas of Namibia, Central and Southern Botswana, and South Africa.
The nocturnal animal is typically handicapped in its capacity to outlive “due to its shyness and preference for nighttime activity,” in keeping with zoo officers.
The cat’s food regimen consists of rodents, bugs and even small birds, KTVX reported. Black-footed cats have additionally been recognized to kill grownup Cape hares, in keeping with the International Society for Endangered Cats.
“She finds almost anything that moves is a potential meal,” a 2018 PBS documentary famous concerning the animal.
Gaia shall be fed by staffers however will nonetheless be allowed to apply her “natural behaviors” with the ability’s animal-care workers, zoo spokesperson Rachael Eames instructed KTVX.
