The black-footed cat kitten was born in February at Brookfield Zoo. (Credit: Brookfield Zoo)
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BROOKFIELD, Ill. (CBS) — Brookfield Zoo announced this week that a black-footed cat has been born at the zoo for the first time ever.
As WBBM Newsradio’s Kris Kridel reports, black-footed cats are the smallest of African felines, half the size of house cats. They are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species; less than 10,000 are alive in the wild in southern Africa.
The male kitten was born at Brookfield on Feb. 14. He had to be hand-reared after his mother, Cleo, did not provide proper maternal care – leaving the kitten’s body temperature “alarmingly” low, the zoo said.
The kitten was placed in an incubator to maintain his body temperature, and was given milk formula from a small bottle. He is now beginning to eat solid food at 6 weeks old, the zoo said.
Black-footed cats have resided at Brookfield Zoo since 2009. In total, there are 60 black-footed cats in American zoos.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Kris Kridel reports
