Despite looking like an adorable little cat, a black-footed cat that was just welcomed to the Hogle Zoo in Utah in the United States is actually believed to be the deadliest cat in the world.
“Barely 8 months old, she is small but big in her fiery personality,” the zoo summarized in a Dec. 28 Facebook post announcing Gaia’s arrival.
The zoo gladdened the hearts of many Facebook users in the comments, quickly alerting them that this was not a cat like the adorable furballs you might have at home.
In fact, the black-footed cat has achieved the status of the deadliest feline in the world due to one of the highest hunting success rates. That would allow him to catch more prey in a single night than a leopard does in six months, Smithsonian Magazine explained.
Gaia came to this American zoo on the recommendation of the Black-Footed Cat Consortium, where only 29 of these cats live.
The zoo already has a tomcat of this species among its residents. “We will let these two feline friends get to know each other when Gaia grows up,” it was made clear.
The black-footed cat lives in the dry areas of eastern Namibia, central and southern Botswana and South Africa.