The following annual reports are prepared by Dr Alex Sliwa and the team conducting Black-footed Cat research in South Africa.
This project is one of the longest running wild cat monitoring projects, with origins in the 1990's when Dr Sliwa first studied these cats.
Currently there are two study locations, both in the Northern Cape province; a nature reserve near Kimberley and two adjacent farms near De Aar.
Kindly note all the images from the reports are copyright Dr Alex Sliwa - please do not use without his permission.
2017 Report on Black-footed Cat monitoring in South Africa
Hulk - a large, beautiful male. © A. Sliwa
Hulk eating a gerbil. © A. Sliwa
Male Darth became resident. © A. Sliwa
Summary
Cats collared at beginning of 2017: 11
Cats died during 2017: - 3
New cats collared: + 2
Total cats collared at end of 2017: 10
Sliwa, A., Wilson, B., Küsters, M., Herrick, J., Eggers, B., Kusak, J., and Marais, S. 2018. Report on surveying, catching and monitoring Black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) on Benfontein Nature Reserve, Nuwejaarsfontein and Taaiboschpoort Farms in 2017.
BFC 2017 Kimberley Cats
| Male Odin | Male Luke | Male Anakin | Female Freya | Female Leia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year Collared | 201x | 201x | Nov 2016 | 201x | 201x |
| Recaptured Nov 2017 | Y | Y | Died Nov 2017 | Y | Y |
| Comments | Cause of death unknown | Two kittens | |||
| Range Size 2017 | 23.6 km2 | 26.0 km2 | 8.9 km2 | 10.1 km2 | 6.9 km2 |
| Cats collared at end Nov 2017 | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 |
BFC 2017 De Aar Cats
| Male Hulk | Male Darth | Male Rikon | Male Drogo | Female Nele | Female Arya | Female Sani | Female Gyra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year Collared | 201x | 201x | Nov 2017 | 201x | 201x | Nov 2017 | Nov 2014 | Nov 2015 |
| Recaptured Nov 2017 | Y | Y | New | Y | Y | New | Died Apr 2017 | Died Feb 2017 |
| Comments | Juvenile | One kitten | One kitten | Amyloidosis suspected | Amyloidosis suspected | |||
| Range Size 2017 | 79.9 km2 | 43.3 km2 | 4.1 km2 | 15.4 km2 | 10.4 km2 | 6.0 km2 | 8.2 km2 | --- |
| Cats collared at end Nov 2017 | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | ||
Nele's kitten ~ 3 weeks old. © A. Sliwa
Nele moving her kitten. © M. Küsters & A. Sliwa
Freya's 2 month old kittens. © A. Sliwa
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