A Black-footed Cat Youngster
Posted at 4:40 pm December 6, 2006 by Nadine LamberskiNadine continues to share her adventures about studying black-footed cats in South Africa. Read her previous blog, In Search of the Black-footed Cat, continued.
Day nine of trapping and our success rate is 6.67 percent so far, with 24 captures out of 360 traps. The good news? We got a cat! A kitten really, but the elusive Felis nigripes nonetheless. We’ve been spotting every night and have seen at least five adults (only ten are estimated to be permanent residents at this location). Last night, one disappeared into a maze of ground squirrel burrows and the other into an aardvark den. We took turns crawling into it but we were all a bit concerned about meeting up with the aardvark…or a cobra. The den took a sharp turn to the left and then dropped down and it was just impossible to see.
It’s overcast and windy but still warm today. I did laundry, took a shower, and now feel amazingly clean (shower and clean clothes all in the same day!!). I also just finished a cheese sandwich, so things are close to perfect at the moment.
Nadine Lamberski is a veterinarian at the Wild Animal Park.
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December 6th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Congratulations on the kitty, Nadine, as well as on the shower and clean clothes (all three wonderful morale builders), not to mention the cheese sandwich! What happens next? Will the kitten be tagged or receive a GPS collar? I’m looking forward to your future blogs, and hope you finally capture some of the adults.
December 7th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
Sounds like a very exciting day, Nadine. Congrats on the kitty find. Now to find some parents…
Thanks for the update. Glad it was you and not me, crawling around in the aardvark den. I would have been very conscious of every sound afraid I would be the next victim of the cobra.
December 7th, 2006 at 7:06 pm
Well, I didn’t see any black feet on the kitten you are holding and wasn’t able to enlarge the picture. So I had to do some research looking up this unfamiliar (to me) species. Looks a lot like a beloved tabby cat I used to own. My, they are small cats! But I did learn that it was the pads on their feet, not their paw fur, that is the source of their name. Nowhere could I find a photo of this feature. Nadine, if you take another picture, could you take a close-up of the black feet? Also I am curious to know about their temperament – how do the ones that you trap react to you? The kitten looks snug as a bug in a rug.
December 14th, 2006 at 9:50 am
Hey, Nadine,
Any more luck finding more elusive black footed cats? They sound like they are not too fond of human visitors.
However, the kitten looks cute and happy.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:27 am
I am doing a project on the black footed cat. could you tell me more?
April 24th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
OMG!
I like love this poor, cute little animals!
April 30th, 2007 at 7:14 am
black footed cats defiently need to be protected because if we don’t then when us kids are grown then there won’t be any left to research and we won’t be able to save them and the cats that are in zoos now won’t be able to survive in the zoo much longer. so start to protect them more and we will be able to learn about them for future generations to come
December 8th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
I wish that black footed cats were in America. if they were we could have maybe helped preserve their species/kind a little better to study and maybe find out how they are realated to cats we keep as pets….Sorry but if you don’t mind my asking, in their gene that makes them smaller than an average cat, there also a gene that makes them have the same fur as say a cheetah. Is there some connection between the genes other than the fact that they are felion?
March 2nd, 2008 at 8:18 am
Hi, I just adore cats, although I won’t mention how many I have. I am doing a school project on a vertebrate, so I chose a animal that I loved.I chose the black-footed cat which are also known as a spotted cat.By any chance can you help me.
Moderator’s note: We’ll forward your request to our Education Department.
October 21st, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I’ve been interested in this species of cat for some time now and have done extensive research on Felis nigripes. I’m interested in getting involved in a conservation program dedicated to increasing Felis nigripes numbers in the wild, possibly through a captive breeding program designed with the ultimate goal of reintroducing them into the wild. How would I go about getting involved in such a project? Please feel free to contact me with any infomation. Thank you.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Hello, Im a 7th grade student working on a project with the Felis nigripes and i was wondering if you could help me with my project on anything that i could work with.
Moderator’s note: We’ll forward your request to our Education Department.
March 25th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
I WOULD LIKE 2 KNOW MORE ABOUT FELIS NEGRIPES!!!!
please tell me where I could get more info.
I am dying to know more !!!!!