Cats of all shapes and sizes are natural born hunters, but this particular one might be the best on the planet.
You probably haven’t ever heard of the African Black-footed cat, and that’s okay, because you are about to hear all about it. The thing doesn’t look that much different than your regular old house cat, which is why it is known as the smallest wild cat in Africa.
The African Black-footed cat, also called the small-spotted cat, usually rests during the daytime in its burrow and comes out at night to hunt. They have been known to kill up to 14 small animals per night, and are able to jump an impressive five-feet up in the air.
Black-footed cats are mainly located in Southern Africa, and typically live in savannas and desert areas with sparse shrubbery. They are known to be some of the fiercest cats of the entire species, and their only weakness appears to be climbing, hindered by their short legs and stocky body.
One legend in Africa claims that a black-footed cat was one time witnessed killing a giraffe, and did so by attacking and piercing the neck of the large animal. Though the story could be an exaggeration, it is meant to showcase how brave and dangerous these small cats can be.
And a flock of birds (or at least one of them) found that out the hard way as they flew low to the ground over a black-footed cat. In the clip below, the small-spotted cat utilizes its dark markings to camouflage itself in the dirt next to the shallow water.
As the birds begin their decent, the black-footed cat picks one out of the flock, and pounces 5-feet into the air at the perfect moment to capture one of them right out of the sky. The cat splashes down into the water as whoever videoing the footage shouts “yes,” which adds a pretty funny element to the impressive feat pulled off by the cat.
Afterwards, the black-footed cat can be seen walking around with the bird proudly in its mouth, occasionally looking back in the direction that the flock had flown in from to see if it can pull off a “round two.”
Based on the caption of the video, the black-footed cat is one of the best hunters on the planet, and is even considered the deadliest cat in the world:
“The African black-footed cat weighs roughly 200 times less than the average lion, but it has a predation success rate of 60% and therefore it’s the world’s deadliest cat.
This is one of its successful hunts.”
Take a look:
The natural hunting instincts of the African black-foot cat are almost hard to believe, and were even the focus of a short nature program on PBS.
Check out the clip below so you can properly be introduced to the deadliest cat on the planet:
