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Life

18th Jan 2018

The world’s deadliest cat may be the cutest thing we’ve ever seen

Awww.

Keeley Ryan

You would imagine that the world’s deadliest cat would be something big and ferocious.

Like a lion or maybe even a tiger.

But it turns out it’s actually a critter called the black-footed cat – and they are beyond adorable.

BBC Earth recently shared a clip from the documentary Big Cats, where viewers were introduced to mother cat Gyra and her kitten.

As sweet and huggable as the black-footed cats look, though, you may want to keep your hugs to yourself.

The teeny-tiny felines are the “deadliest” cats in the world due to the fact that 60% of their hunts end successfully.

The Big Cats production crew found Gyra and her little one in the Karoo desert in Southern Africa.

Scientist Alex Sliwa said:

“This peek into the life of the black-footed cat embodies their character well. Despite their sweet exterior, due to their diminutive size, they hunt with deadly precision and tenacity.

“They are such charismatic little killers, particularly Gyra with her ‘scary eye look’! She looks so innocent but then is such ruthless and efficient killer.

“This is a great example of collaboration, which was only possible through the perfect timing of the BBC film crew arriving in time to film the females caring for their kittens in the wild.

“This is no small feat, as black-footed cats are notoriously shy and mobile, and only our deep insight and long-term knowledge of them has made this possible.”

In the premiere of the show, they also looked at the world’s smallest cat: the rusty spotted cat, who is so small he’d fit right in your hand.