- Where to see one
- 3 U.S. zoos in our directory hold black-footed cat, confirmed against each zoo's own animal list.
Conservation status
Not Evaluated
This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List, so it sits outside the threat scale entirely.
About the black-footed cat
The black-footed cat is the smallest wild cat in Africa, with a head-and-body length of 35 to 52 cm. Despite its name, only the soles of its feet are black or dark brown. Its tawny coat is covered in bold small spots and stripes, which camouflage it well, especially on moonlit nights. It is native to the arid steppes and grassland savannas of Southern Africa. The cat rests in burrows by day and hunts at night, covering 5 to 16 km in search of small rodents and birds. A female usually gives birth to two kittens between October and March.
Black-footed Cat facts
- It feeds on about 40 different vertebrates and kills up to 14 small animals in a single night.
- It can catch birds in flight by jumping as high as 1.4 m.
- The first specimens known to science came from the northern Karoo of South Africa and were described in 1824.
- Radio telemetry studies of the species have been running since 1993.
Where to see black-footed cat in the U.S.
3 zoos across 3 states
Find the closest one
Rank the 3 zoos holding black-footed cat by how far they are from you. Your location is used in your browser to sort this list and is never sent to us.
AZAThe Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accredited members have passed an independent inspection of animal care and welfare, safety, conservation and education, repeated every five years. Many smaller facilities never apply, so “not accredited” isn't a verdict on its own. What accreditation means · How we check this
Built from each zoo's own published animal list.
