If you always thought the lion was nature’s deadliest predator, think again.

Utah’s Hogle Zoo has got a lesson on who really is one of the world’s best killers, and this one makes you go ‘awwww’ when you see her.

Slightly bigger-eyed but smaller than your average house cat, black-footed cats can jump five feet into the air and launch themselves more than 6 and a half feet in distance. But their deadliest trick – successfully hunting and killing up to 14 meals each night, averaging 3,000 rodents each year.

“They’re considered the fierce cat,” said Bob Cisneros, Hogle Zoo’s associate director of animal care. “These guys are voracious hunters,” he said.

(She is) a mighty warrior.”

According to Amanda Collins, vice program leader for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums black-footed cat consortium, these deadly hunters will catch their prey more than 60 percent of the time.

Gaia, the cutest killer kitty. Photo by Hogle Zoo

But their numbers in the wild are decreasing and now the black-footed cat is listed as vulnerable, one step below being considered endangered, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Currently, there are only about 9,700 left in existence.

Collins said that there are 28 black-footed cats in accredited zoos in North America. The consortium, she said, is working to pair up the cats that are the most genetically different for breeding to help preserve the species.

Gaia was one of four kittens born at a wildlife center in Texas. She has dark spots and stripes with big ears, and gold-green eyes. She spent a few months getting used to her new home before she was unveiled to the public.

“She’s settling in at night when everybody’s gone,” Cisneros said. “When we all come in, she’s hunkered down in her little cave.”

She’s a pretty feisty cat,” he said.

This is not the zoo’s first black-footed cat, Cisneros said. Their previous female, Sanura, died earlier this year at the age of 18 1/2, which broke records for longevity in captivity.

Gaia has been matched with Ryder, a three-year-old male that the Utah zoo got in 2021. Cisneros said that this isn’t just about making new kittens, but getting people interested in the species.

“Lions and tigers, they have a lot of really good rap. People love them. But small cats have a lot of pizazz about them as well,” Collins said. “Even though they’re not those big, charismatic animals, they are very special for being some of the smallest animals out in that landscape in Africa.”

Gaia enjoys a meaty treat in her enclosure. Photo by Hogle Zoo

So, she said, creating interest in these tiny killers will help find them homes at other zoos to thrive in.

“If we do breed these animals but we have nowhere to put them, that doesn’t help us,” Collins said. “The more interest the public has in these cats, the more effort we can put into having a conservation effort for them.”

Overtime, zookeepers hope Gaia will serve as an ambassador for her species.

“While animals like Ryder and Gaia may be found in Africa, far away from what we do on a daily basis… they become representatives of a conservation message that applies to everything here,” Cisneros said.

Watch the cutest little killer cat, below.

Sources: Smithsonian Mag | Washington Post