Wildlife wonders of the small cats

Small wildlife from the family of squirrels. (Jayne Rose Gacheri, The Standard)

While visiting wildlife spaces, many visitors focus on the 'big five', and are oblivious to the 'small cats'. Like their 'big five' cousins, they face the threat of habitat loss, poaching, and conflict with humans and livestock. Research indicates they receive less than one per cent of the total conservation funding available for wild cats. As a result, most remain understudied and under-protected. Here are some of Africa's wild cats.

The black-footed cat: It is the smallest found in Africa - South Africa. It weighs 1.6 kg. As tiny as it may be, it has the highest hunting success rate in the entire cat family. Its meals comprise rodents and small birds. It has a huge appetite and can consume up to 14 prey items in one night. The International Union for Conservation of Nature's red list (a critical indicator of the health of the world's biodiversity) describes it as "vulnerable" with just over 9,700 mature individuals remaining in the world.