The African wildcat is a shy, wild cousin of the domestic house cat, which occurs widely across the continent. Safaris in Kruger and the private reserves that border it offer the opportunity to spot African wildcats on evening game drives.
Need Advice?The African wildcat is closely related to the domestic house cat and is the same approximate size. It is, however, less diverse in its appearance, as its fur color is typically brown and grey on most of its back and side, with black stripes covering its front and hind legs.
African wildcats are another widespread terrestrial-bound species of African mammal. The vast majority of Southern Africa, including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique, all have African wildcat populations. Further north, they also thrive in the grasslands of east Africa and the jungles of Western Africa as you approach the coast. They are absent in parts near Cape Town and the Namib Desert.
African wildcats are classified as "least concern" regarding conservation status. They are arguably some of Africa's most widely spread small cat species, being found as far south as South Africa and north as parts of the Middle East and Asia. Their domestication and close ties with humans greatly benefit their survival as a species, with many local people having wildcats as house pets. They also scavenge on the waste of settlements on the outskirts of small towns bordering their natural habitat.
This species is open to any living environment and settles in various habitats, including grasslands, jungles, forests, fynbos, mountainous areas, and many others. It is because of the diverse range in which their prey – rodents, lizards, birds, insects, and hares or rabbits – are found. They have even been observed living in treeless floodplains where they take refuge in burrows dug by other animals, such as hyenas or aardvarks. These animals also inhabit areas near settlements and within agricultural zones. A fact that contributes to their domestication by people.
Wildcats, in general, are very much like house cats, especially considering that they can interbreed – meaning they are considered the same species but different sub-species. It also means that they have the same kind of social organization. They are solitary, territorial creatures. House cats are, however, more social and lenient when it comes to tolerating others of their species and have been known to form groups who feed together when there is a significant surplus of food while raising young. Whether this is the same with African wild cats is unknown, but some observations of individuals hunting together support this theory.
We recommend the following National Parks and Private Reserves for the best chances of spotting the african wildcat on safari game drives and bush walks.
They are not particularly social creatures, and contact between individuals is rare, although it does occur. They mainly hunt or forage at night and use their good sense of sight to target prey of almost their size, including scrub hares and spring hares in the Kruger National Park. They are relatively harmless to larger animals, although their sharp claws can slice through a person's skin, making them a hazard. They mark their territory and home ranges by spraying, urinating, or leaving piles of feces that they cover with sand, as domestic cats do.
They have a brief period in which mating can take place – a few days while a female is in heat, driven by her need to mate and her instinct to expand her family and ensure the survival of her species. This period is typically four days, followed by ovulation to ensure the copulation is successful. Her litter of kittens averages 2 or 3 and are born within any secluded spot their mother can find in the habitat. Here, they can grow to independence over the next few months.
Like house cats, they respond to attacks or distress calls with a hissing sound. They also give out signs of a warning with low-pitched humming or growling, to which their opponent either runs away or wanders closer. When predators approach, they might take the coward's way out and run, although this might be the most realistically safe method in Africa. They are hunted and threatened by several predators, including just about any other cat or dog species, such as jackals, leopards, lions, or caracals, in addition to eagles and other birds of prey who might easily make a meal of their kittens.
