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The black-footed cat is one of the smallest wild cats in Africa and even in the world, named after the special black mark on the sole of the foot, the hair on the foot is black, and the meat pad is also black, which can play a role in protection and camouflage, which is very special.
However, this kind of beer cup can also hold the "pet" is called a "killing machine" and is banned from the whole world!
So, how strong is the hunting ability of black-footed cats? And why is it forbidden to be kept all over the world? What is the current situation of black-footed cats?
The black-footed cat is petite and cute in appearance, but it is extremely lethal, and some people even think that it can successfully jump on the neck of a giraffe and quickly carry out "throat lock killing".
Soft and cute kittens
The average weight of black-footed cats is between 1-2KG, the body length is 36-52cm, the tail length is almost half, and the head appears to be large and round;
The coat color is generally white or brown, occasionally mixed with some brown or black spotted stripes, soft and cute with a bit of wildness, cute and aggressive at the same time.
The wild stomach king eats only meat
The black-footed cat is small and light, but it is a full stomach king, only interested in meat, and can eat all kinds of spiders and mice.
It can eat 1/3 of its own weight at a time, which is almost the same as the amount of food that humans eat in one meal;
According to statistics, a black-footed cat can eat more than 3,000 mice a year, an average of 10 a day!
When the prey it catches is too large, it will cleverly drag it into its own habitat, digest it slowly, and then continue to enjoy the fruits of victory.
Hunting efficiency is exceptionally high
The black-footed cat is soft and cute on the outside, but in fact it is an emotionless "hunter".
As a solitary animal, the black-footed cat is a typical "nightwalker", sleeping heavily during the day and going out hunting at night.
Its hunting success rate is as high as 60%, no less than that of tigers, three times that of lions, and it can be called a "killing machine".
In the PBS channel's Nature miniseries "Super Cats", the prey caught by the black-footed cat in one night is equivalent to the harvest of the top cheetah in 6 months, which is extremely efficient.
Forbidden to breed all over the world
Looking at the soft and cute appearance of the black-footed cat, many "shovelers" can't help but jump at it, but it is forbidden all over the world!
The black-footed cat has now been included in the list of protected animals, and the main reason why it is forbidden is that it is too wild and fierce, which can be seen from its efficient hunting methods.
The hunting characteristics of the black-footed cat are fast shots, accurate landing points, and fierce hands, and its petite physique is destined to be outsmarted, and when the time comes, almost no prey can escape from under its claws.
"Striking grass and frightening snakes, taking lives in chaos" method
The black-footed cat is very intelligent and will first run around in the grass, making small prey hidden in the grass feel afraid to run around. By "striking the grass and frightening the snake" to make the prey invisible, and then take advantage of the chaos to quickly subdue the prey.
Black-footed cats have 6 times the eyesight of humans and can see their prey clearly in the dark, without worrying about missing their prey because they can't see it.
Wait for the rabbit law
"Waiting for the rabbit" is the most classic hunting method of cats, it quietly crawls in the mouth of the prey's hole, quietly waiting for the prey to appear, it may be an hour, it may be half a day.
No matter how long it takes, the black-footed cat will wait quietly until the prey lets down its guard and comes out of the hole, and it will subdue it with lightning speed and eat a full meal.
Silently trailing
Just as tigers suddenly emerge from behind their prey, black-footed cats, as felines, trail their prey is one of their instinctive ways of hunting.
In the face of some larger prey that cannot attack from the front, the black-footed cat will carefully follow and then unexpectedly attack the hunt when it reaches the right position.
Generally speaking, the prey will panic at this time, and the black-footed cat has already found the position of a move to kill, taking advantage of the panic of the prey to hit it.
According to some data, the black-footed cat can hunt successfully every 50 minutes on average, and due to its large appetite, it needs to hunt no less than 10 times a night.
The soft and cute appearance masks its fierce nature, coupled with exquisite and mature hunting methods and techniques, the success rate of the black-footed cat is much higher than that of lions and tigers, and it is the most efficient "killing machine" among felines.
However, the black-footed cat, which seems to be at the top of the food chain, is now listed as a "vulnerable" species, and it is illegal to buy, sell and transport.
Data show that there are less than 10,000 wild black-footed cats in the world, and the distribution density of black-footed cats in many parts of Africa is declining sharply.
This is not only related to the black-footed cat itself, but also related to the improper behavior of humans.
Single-parent personality with a solitary personality
Black-footed cats prefer to live alone, with a territory of about 10-22 km, and will only be with the opposite sex during the estrus or breeding period.
Generally speaking, black-footed cats only give birth to 1-2 kittens in a litter, and when the kittens grow to 5 months old, the parents will go back to their respective homes, but most of the kittens will continue to grow in the territory of the mother cat, cared for by the mother cat, and whether it can grow up safely depends on luck.
Too small to deal with predators
Although the hunting efficiency of black-footed cats is very high, when facing large predators, they have no ability to fight back in the face of absolute strength, and can only be reduced to the "prey" of other animals.
Human misconduct
First of all, the expansion of human activities has made the living field of black-footed cats smaller and smaller, there is not enough space to survive and breed, and the number of black-footed cats will become smaller and smaller;
Second, some people think that the black-footed cat is small and cute, so they forcibly keep it as a pet and reproductively communicate with the domestic cat. Over time, the genes of black-footed cats are no longer pure.
Finally, some people use black-footed cats as bait or kill them by mistake in order to kill them. Due to the intervention of human beings, the number of black-footed cats has been forced to decrease.
All in all, the black-footed cat, as the most efficient "killing machine" among cats, is not optimistic about its survival situation when it is banned from the whole world, so it will be listed as a "vulnerable" species.
Perhaps one day in the future, this petite and fierce cat will fade out of human vision until it disappears completely.
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