Nine Lives of Black-footed Cats

The black-footed cat is a small felid with a limited range in southern Africa. Despite its endangered status, the black-footed cat has received very little attention by the conservation community.

This project is part of a larger conservation initiative to better understand the ecology, genetics, health, and reproductive biology of the black-footed cat in southern Africa. 

Our objectives are to obtain biological samples from wild black-footed cats for conservation genetics studies and to determine infectious disease prevalence in small carnivores that share black-footed cat habitat and monitor changes in disease prevalence over time, with a focus on canine distemper.  We are collecting samples from black-footed cats and small carnivores on Benfontein Nature Reserve in support of these studies. 

Cell samples will be cultured, providing a renewable source of high quality samples for current and ongoing studies. Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation will be assessed to help determine population subdivisions, whether hybridization with domestic cats or other felids is occurring, and the first estimates of genetic diversity. Blood samples will be submitted to the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine to determine if antibodies against common viral pathogens, including canine distemper, are present.