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Hi Michaelpr.

Must tell you that the exact same day you posted this question I believed I saw a small spotted cat on the S21 near the N'twamhiri waterhole in the Krugerpark. For a few weeks I was sure that it was exactly that, a small spotted cat, just to discover that they are not found in the Krugerpark.
Now I believe it was an african wild cat. Still a thrilling experience as we are not likely to find the smaller cat species when we visit the Kruger Park.

Hi, Eagle Owl, some people say that there are small-spotted cats in Kruger, so maybe.....

They are secret creatures, probably the most secret of all cat species. A Brown Hyena has been seen recently close to Sabie Game Reserve. Who knows what we miss.

I stopped at road kill recently close to Mapengubwe.. it broke my heart, but I do think that it might have been our dear, elusive, creature.

I believe we had seen a Small Spotted cat on the S100 a few years ago. It DEFINITELY was not a cheetah cub and DEFINITELY not a leopard cub .... sorry, no pic, but I could clearly see it with my binoculars.

Wow Spotted Cat! Are you sure it wasn't a serval?

Hi michael, no - ears were different.

So as I wrote in earlier Times this animals lives in deserts e.g. Botsuana, Namibia, Kalahari, Karoo, Malutu Mountains. This animal is absolutley rare(only 10.000 animals remain!) and they are absolutley shy! If they exist in the Kruger, then only in the northern park, where a border to KNP exist, if they pass the border to RSA as an "Illegal";-) (small Joke!). These animals are nocturnal and they can look quite similar, to the aFRICAN wILD CAT,but the Afrcan Wild cat is heigher and heavier! the Black footed cat is not able to climb very well, the Paws are to small and the tail is to big! --> Intresting fact


http://schwarzfusskatze.wild-katze.org/ --->nice Photos. But the HP is in German

Best Regards

Malealea

{fixed link - BGS}

Spotted cats will not win tomorrow!!!

Soory for the hi-jack

is ist a soccer Team or a Rugby Team??? or I´m completly wrong?


BEST regards

They think they are a rugby team...... just Delusion of Grandeur

thanks for the information. But a black footed cat is still a small Game

Yesterday night I saw on the news on SABC 2 that there are some new researches being done on the small spotted cat. I think some company in America is also involved in this research.

Anyway, I am quite sure that I saw a small spotted cat in July on the S21 on our way back to Lower Sabie. Unfortunately, in the event screaming at SO to stop and reverse (I think all the animals in a 10 kilometer ficinity heard me) and me fumbling for my stupid camera, the cat dissapeared.

It was really to black for an african wildcat. And it geniunely looked like a house cat, sitting on a smallish sandbed with a bush on it's right, further surruonded by the normal winter vegetation at that time of year. Now the location was at the turnoff to the N'watimhiri waterhole on the S21. We turned to the waterhole to have a look for some action there and found none. On the way back to the S21 Mr Cat sat watching the drive by, probably about ten/fifteen meters before you turn back in the S21, on your left hand side. And it might have been between 16h00 and 16h30 as we were on our way back to LS before the gates closed at 17h30.

Now the reason for me going in to detail about my sighting: I would really like it if anybody or everybody would perhaps, whenever in that vicinity, and especially around that time, might find themselves around there, will scan the area for a small spotted cat. Keep your cameras ready, just for in case. The cat was very near the road. I really hope that somebody will get a photo and post it here. And you might get famous as well.

Very interesting Eagle Owl. I would love to know more about the research.

Morning MM,

We just saw it accidentely on the news, was busy with some other stuff, but if my memory serves me right, they are busy with the research in the Northe Cape, Botswana areas. They have (or are still going to) installed cameras on certain points to see if they can obtain some small spotted cat footage during night time (I think these cameras were sponsored by some American company or association or something). It is definitely a very shy cat according to the news flash and might be endangered if I recall correctly. What's happening to my memory?? Possibly the reason why they are launching such an intensive research program (not because of my memory, but the endangered aspect)

Well, obviousely you can understand the dissapointment on my side for not having a photo of my sighting, because I'm pretty darn sure it was a small spotted cat. The image is so clear in my mind that I'm about 100 % positive I am correct. Just maybe somebody might be getting a sighting of a lifetime because of my post, who knows..?

Wow EO! If it really was a small spotted cat, that would have been the sighting of a lifetime!!