Adorable black footed kitty Gaia whose species is world’s deadliest shows off her scary side in adorable new clip…then celebrates her 1st birthday with treats
Gaia, a small African cat with black paws, celebrated her first birthday with a treat.
The cat, which may look cute, is in fact one of the deadliest in the world. The black-footed cat is the smallest species of wild cat in Africa and is known for its killer reputation.
Zookeepers at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah, note that Gaia’s species has a 60 percent success rate when it comes to hunting, compared to other big cats, where a 20 percent success rate is the norm.
In an adorable video posted to Instagram, Gaia can be seen hunting around her enclosure looking for carefully hidden cat treats as part of her birthday celebration.
Gaia, a small African black-footed cat, celebrated her first birthday at Utah’s Hogle Zoo with some delicious treats
Despite her adorable appearance, she is one of Africa’s deadliest cat species, known for their remarkable hunting skills with a 60% success rate
Videos show Gaia hunting for hidden treats and showing off her formidable teeth
In another video posted by the zoo earlier this month, Gaia lets out a huge growl with her fangs clearly visible.
The video is aptly subtitled “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 about 3,000 rodents per year in their natural habitat.
Bob Cisneros, deputy director of Animal Care, describes Gaia as a “pretty feisty cat” and a “mighty warrior.”
The young feline is currently kept on a strict diet of ground bones, skeletal muscle and organs, and “the occasional mouse that has already been humanely euthanized by the zoo’s distributors.”
Black-footed cats, despite being small, are agile hunters found in the arid regions of Africa, earning the nickname ‘anthill tiger’.
The cat has been at the Utah zoo for the past six months
Gaia is snacking on a bone, which is part of the strict and specific diet she follows
Despite Gaia’s extremely unassuming appearance, black-footed cats are considered one of 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 small stature, blackfeet can jump up to five feet in the air and at a distance of five feet.
Black-footed cats are native to Africa and are mainly found in the arid eastern parts of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. They are the smallest species of wild cats found on the continent.
In the African language 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 after a breeding recommendation from the Black-Footed Cat Consortium.
The Hogle Zoo is already home to a male black-footed cat named Ryder, which they plan to introduce to Gaia in the future.
“Gaia’s introduction to Ryder, the male black-footed cat, is planned, but we will introduce these two feline friends when Gaia is an adult,” the zoo said earlier this year.
Gaia will soon be introduced to a tomcat in the hope that the pair will reproduce
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’.
The black-footed cats are adept at camouflaging themselves while hunting, and they also have strong hearing and night vision.
Although the 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 are only about 10,000 black-footed cats left in the wild, and 28 of those animals live in North America.
“One of our goals is to raise awareness of the species as a whole because we really need support from the public,” said Hogle veterinarian Janice Thompson.
‘It is the rarest African cat. We are working very hard to increase their numbers.
‘Fossil edge [in Texas] is so successful with their breeding program,” Thompson said.
‘That’s partly because it happens behind the scenes and the cats have a lot of privacy.’