Utah’s Hogle Zoo has welcomed an adorable new resident whose sweet looks and big eyes are deceiving compared to her fierce nature.
Gaia, a small, black-footed African cat, arrived in Utah from Glen Rose, Texas, last October after being born eight months ago in May.
The zoo, which regularly posts photos of the baby cat to much fanfare, says she weighs about 2.64 pounds.
Before being introduced to the public a few weeks ago, she underwent a quarantine period and a complete health check.
She is now described by Bob Cisneros, the deputy director of Animal Care, as a “pretty feisty cat” and a “mighty warrior.”
Gaia, a small, black-footed African cat, arrived in Utah from Glen Rose, Texas, last October after being born eight months ago in May
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.”
Cisneros added that Gaia has settled into her new environment at night when no one else is around to observe her.
“When we all come in (in the morning), she’s cowering in her little cave,” he said.
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 like Gaia are considered some of the deadliest cats in the world.
They have a 60 percent success rate at hunting, compared to a success rate of about 20 percent for larger cats.
According to the Hogle Zoo, black-footed cats can eat about 3,000 rodents per year in their natural habitat.
“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.
The very cute eight-month-old cat is making himself at home at Utah’s Hogle Zoo after arriving in October
Gaia is snacking on a bone, which is part of the strict and specific diet she is currently following
Despite Gaia’s extremely unassuming appearance, black-footed cats are considered one of the deadliest cats in the world
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.