They may look cute, but these kittens have incredible hunting skills.
On April 28, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park welcomed a pair of black-footed cats, which was hailed as the “world’s deadliest super cats” by the Smithsonian. The zoo first had Arwen and Sawyer, and the couple welcomes kittens Ryder and Skyler, a boy and a girl, respectively.
The zoo recently posted a video on Youtube showing the fierce little kittens eating meat from a masked zookeeper’s tongs, and had since became viral.
“This allows us to make sure that the cats don’t associate our hands with food – so we avoid bites,” Chelsea Davies, the Park’s wildlife care specialist, told the Associated Press. “But also to make sure that we’re far enough distance back that the cats feel comfortable approaching us for their food.”
The black-footed cat is named for their black-padded soles and hair. They are native to Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and has a 60% hunting success rate.
Ryder and Skyler were born weighing just three ounces each, and won’t weigh more than two to three pounds once fully mature. However, do not be fooled. Their size does not correlate with their voracious appetite.
One black-footed cat can eat up to 14 rodents and birds a night, according to the zoo. In comparison, lions only catch their prey 25% of the time, according to BBC Wildlife.
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