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Black-footed cats have been observed to attempt catching 10 vertebrates in five hours of hunting, with a mean of six successful attempts. [5] In 1993, a female and a male black-footed cat were followed for 622 hours and observed hunting. They caught vertebrates every 50 minutes and killed up to 14 small animals in a night.
However, black-footed polecats are listed as "Endangered" and it is estimated that there are 350 black-footed ferrets living in the wild. [12] The main threats to black-footed polecats are disease, habitat loss, and human-introduced diseases. [ 13 ]
There are 41 extant species, and all but a few have retractile claws. This family is represented on all continents except for Australia (where domestic cats have been introduced) and Antarctica. The species vary in size from the tiny black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) at only 2 kg (4.5 lb) to the tiger (Panthera tigris) at 300 kg
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists black-footed cats as “vulnerable.” Cisneros notes that Gaia came to the zoo through a breeding program that promotes species survival.
Felis is a genus of small and medium-sized cat species native to most of Africa and south of 60° latitude in Europe and Asia to Indochina. The genus includes the domestic cat . The smallest of the seven Felis species is the black-footed cat with a head and body length from 38 to 42 cm (15 to 17 in).
African wildcats were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Near East, and are the ancestors of the domestic cat (F. catus). [19] Domestic cats and African wildcats remain closely related in the present day; interspecific hybrids between domestic cat and African wildcats are common, and occur where their ranges overlap. [22]
Out of 655 hair samples, 525 were from cats, including 136 from wild cats. Photos also contribute to the investigation, with 716 portraits, including 268 of wild cats or their look-alikes. [ 60 ] These results highlight the challenge of close coexistence between populations of wild cats and domestic cats, and the resulting hybridization.
In the United States, the term polecat is sometimes applied to the black-footed ferret, a native member of the Mustelinae. In Southern United States dialect, the term polecat is sometimes used as a colloquial nickname for the skunk , which is part of the family Mephitidae .