text: Super Cats, A Nature Miniseries premieres nationwide Wednesdays, October 24-November 7 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Each episode will be available to stream the following day at pbs.org/nature and on PBS apps. 
   
   Stalking in the shadows, prowling almost every continent, cats are one of the world’s most diverse and successful predators. But there is far more to these charismatic and misunderstood animals than most people recognize. Filmed over 600 days in 14 countries and featuring 31 species of cat, this groundbreaking three-part miniseries narrated by F. Murray Abraham uncovers the secret lives of big cats and introduces behaviors captured on film for the first time, using the latest camera technology and scientific research. 
   
   From the solitary bachelor snow leopard in the Himalayas to the elusive swamp tiger of South Asia, to a remarkably efficient Californian bobcat that is blind in one eye, Super Cats, A Nature Miniseries reveals how cats survive and thrive in all four corners of the globe. Nature uncovers their social sides, their complex communication, devoted parental care, courtship rituals, hunting patterns and more. 
   
   Advances in technology allowed for several on-camera firsts, including the nocturnal pursuits of a tiny but deadly black-footed cat in South Africa who hunts more in one night than a leopard does in six months. Remote cameras capture exclusive intimate moments between a mother Pallas’ cat and her kittens. Low-light technology exposes a true rarity: a puma preying on Magellanic penguins, one of the few successful hunts ever caught on film. A swamp tiger takes a bath in the sea — a phenomenon previously unseen on television. 
   
   Production Credits: Episode 3 - Science and Secrets Print Narrated by 
   
   F. MURRAY ABRAHAM Produced & Directed by 
   
   GAVIN BOYLAND Photography 
   
   STUART DUNN Sound 
   
   ZUBIN SAROSH Additional Photography 
   
   SIMON ENDERBY 
   
   SUE GIBSON 
   
   DAVID LOUGEDO 
   
   JOSÉ LUIS ROUCO FERNANDEZ 
   
   KALYAN VARMA 
   
   VISUAL AIR PRODUCTIONS Additional Sound 
   
   NICK ALLINSON 
   
   ELLIE WILLIAMS Film Editor 
   
   NICK CARLINE Edit Producer 
   
   GILLIAN TAYLOR Assistant Film Editor 
   
   JACK ROBERTS Post Production 
   
   DOGHOUSE POST PRODUCTION 
   
   WOUNDED BUFFALO Graphic Design 
   
   BDH CREATIVE Sound Editor 
   
   JONNY CREW Dubbing Mixer 
   
   BEN PEACE Colorist 
   
   FRED TAY Online Editor 
   
   MICHAEL LANSDELL Original Music 
   
   BLEEDING FINGERS Score Producers 
   
   MONICA SONAND 
   
   RUSSELL EMANUEL Scientific Consultants 
   
   Dr ALEXANDER SLIWA 
   
   Dr LUKE HUNTER Special Thanks 
   
   TATJANA HUBEL 
   
   SABAH PARKS DEPARTMENT 
   
   LE PARC DES FÉLINS 
   
   UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH, PALANGKA RAYA Archive 
   
   BORNEO NATURE FOUNDATION 
   
   SHANSHUI/PANTHERA/SLT/SEEF/GZC Wildlife Permits Provided by 
   
   JUNTA DE ANDALUCÍA 
   
   JUNTA DE EXTRAMEDURA 
   
   MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS, INDIA Director 
   
   SARA DOUGLAS Researchers 
   
   ANNA PLACE 
   
   HARRIET LAWRENCE 
   
   LEAH ARNOLD-REDMAN Production Coordinators 
   
   JO ARMSTRONG DAVIS 
   
   SUSANNA PROUSE Production Team 
   
   ARPANA PATERSON 
   
   JANE ATKINS 
   
   GEORGE PILAS 
   
   SOPHIE EDWARDS 
   
   BECKY PAYNE 
   
   ESHIKA FYZEE 
   
   NATHALIE GALVE 
   
   ELLIE KYNASTON Production Manager 
   
   STELLA STYLIANOS Unit Manager 
   
   KATE GORST Commissioning Editor 
   
   TOM MCDONALD Series Producer 
   
   GAVIN BOYLAND Executive Producer 
   
   MICHAEL GUNTON For NATURE Series Editor 
   
   JANET HESS Senior Producer 
   
   LAURA METZGER LYNCH Coordinating Producer 
   
   JAYNE JUN Associate Producer 
   
   JAMES F. BURKE Legal Counsel 
   
   BLANCHE ROBERTSON Digital Producer 
   
   HEATHER TONER Social Media Editor 
   
   KAREN HO Audience Engagement 
   
   CHELSEY SAATKAMP Budget Controller 
   
   JAYNE LISI Online Editor 
   
   STACEY DOUGLASS MOVERLEY Re-Recording Mixer 
   
   ED CAMPBELL Original Funding Provided in Part by 
   
   The Arnhold Family In Memory Of Clarisse Arnhold 
   
   Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III 
   
   Kate W. Cassidy Foundation 
   
   Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust 
   
   Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao 
   
   Anderson Family Fund 
   
   Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation 
   
   Rosalind P. Walter 
   
   The Halmi Family in memory of Robert Halmi, Sr. 
   
   Sandra Atlas Bass 
   
   The Arlene and Milton D. Berkman Philanthropic Fund 
   
   Anne Ray foundation 
   
   Corporation for Public Broadcasting Series Producer 
   
   BILL MURPHY Executive Producer 
   
   FRED KAUFMAN A BBC Studios Production for PBS and BBC with THIRTEEN Productions LLC, co-produced by France Télévisions This program was produced by THIRTEEN Productions LLC, which is solely responsible for its content © 2018 BBC 
   
   SUPER CATS ADDITIONAL MATERIALS © 2018 PBS AND 
   
   © 2018 THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC 
   
   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
   
   Production Credits: Episode 2 - Cats In Every Corner Print Narrated by 
   
   F. MURRAY ABRAHAM Produced & Directed by 
   
   PAUL WILLIAMS Photography 
   
   SUE GIBSON 
   
   LUKE BARNETT 
   
   HOWARD BOURNE 
   
   LIANNE STEENKAMP 
   
   KALYAN VARMA 
   
   KENNAN WARD Additional Photography 
   
   NEIL ANDERSON 
   
   DOUGLAS PARKER 
   
   ALONSO SANCHEZ ESPINOZA 
   
   WILL STEENKAMP Film Editor 
   
   SAM ROGERS Assistant Film Editor 
   
   JACK ROBERTS Post Production 
   
   DOGHOUSE POST PRODUCTION 
   
   WOUNDED BUFFALO Graphic Design 
   
   BDH CREATIVE Sound Editor 
   
   TIM OWENS Dubbing Mixer 
   
   BEN PEACE Colorist 
   
   FRED TAY Online Editor 
   
   MICHAEL LANSDELL Original Music 
   
   BLEEDING FINGERS Score Producers 
   
   MONICA SONAND 
   
   RUSSELL EMANUEL Scientific Consultants 
   
   Dr ALEXANDER SLIWA 
   
   Dr LUKE HUNTER Special Thanks: 
   
   EVIE ADAMS 
   
   JANE ATKINS 
   
   MATT RICHARDS 
   
   SERGIO ESCOBAR-LASSO 
   
   BLACK-FOOTED CAT WORKING GROUP 
   
   GOINGWILD LLP 
   
   SECUNDA SYNFUELS OPERATIONS / SASOL LTD. Logistics Support 
   
   DR BARIUSHAA MUNKHTSOG 
   
   RICHARD FOSTER 
   
   BIOCENOSIS MARINA LIMITADA 
   
   THE BELIZE ZOO AND TROPICAL EDUCATION CENTER Wildlife Permits Provided by 
   
   MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS, INDIA 
   
   WILDLIFE TRUST OF INDIA Directors 
   
   SARA DOUGLAS 
   
   ANNA PLACE Researcher 
   
   HARRIET LAWRENCE Production Coordinators 
   
   JO ARMSTRONG DAVIS 
   
   ELLIE WILLIAMS Production Management Assistant 
   
   SUSANNA PROUSE Production Manager 
   
   STELLA STYLIANOS Unit Manager 
   
   KATE GORST Commissioning Editor 
   
   TOM MCDONALD Series Producer 
   
   GAVIN BOYLAND Executive Producer 
   
   MICHAEL GUNTON For NATURE Series Editor 
   
   JANET HESS Senior Producer 
   
   LAURA METZGER LYNCH Coordinating Producer 
   
   JAYNE JUN Associate Producer 
   
   JAMES F. BURKE Legal Counsel 
   
   BLANCHE ROBERTSON Digital Producer 
   
   HEATHER TONER Social Media Editor 
   
   WHITNEY MCGOWAN Audience Engagement 
   
   CHELSEY SAATKAMP Budget Controller 
   
   JAYNE LISI Online Editor 
   
   STACEY DOUGLASS MOVERLEY Re-Recording Mixer 
   
   ED CAMPBELL Original Funding Provided in Part by 
   
   The Arnhold Family In Memory Of Clarisse Arnhold 
   
   Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III 
   
   Kate W. Cassidy Foundation 
   
   Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust 
   
   Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao 
   
   Anderson Family Fund 
   
   Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation 
   
   Rosalind P. Walter 
   
   The Halmi Family in memory of Robert Halmi, Sr. 
   
   Sandra Atlas Bass 
   
   The Arlene and Milton D. Berkman Philanthropic Fund 
   
   Anne Ray foundation 
   
   Corporation for Public Broadcasting Series Producer 
   
   BILL MURPHY Executive Producer 
   
   FRED KAUFMAN A BBC Studios Production for PBS and BBC with THIRTEEN Productions LLC, co-produced by France Télévisions This program was produced by THIRTEEN Productions LLC, which is solely responsible for its content © 2018 BBC 
   
   SUPER CATS ADDITIONAL MATERIALS © 2018 PBS AND 
   
   © 2018 THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC 
   
   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ||||| The black-footed cat ( Felis nigripes ) hunts amongst the short desert scrub in the Karoo of South Africa. 
   
   The deadliest cat on Earth isn't a shaggy-maned lion, a sleek leopard or a stealthy tiger. It's a wee cat that you've probably never heard of: Africa's smallest feline, the black-footed cat. 
   
   Native to the grasslands of southern Africa, the black-footed cat has an endearingly round face and a light brown, black-spotted body that is small even compared to domestic cats. The wild feline measures only 14 to 20 inches (36 to 52 centimeters) long, stands about 8 inches (20 cm) tall and weighs about 2 to 6 lbs. (1 to 3 kilograms), according to the International Society for Endangered Cats (black-footed cats are listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature). 
   
   Admittedly, those measurements don't sound very impressive when compared to the sizable big cats that are among the world's most fearsome predators. But despite its small size, the black-footed cat hunts and brings down more prey in a single night than a leopard does in six months, according to the PBS Nature miniseries "Super Cats." [Meet the Rare and Fabulous Felines of 'Super Cats' (Photos)] 
   
   The second episode in the miniseries aired on PBS last night (Oct. 31). It featured an unprecedented glimpse of the black-footed cat, along with views of other fascinating and elusive wild felines, such as a pregnant jaguar in Costa Rica, a rare swamp tiger in India and a family of fishing cats — the only semiaquatic cats — in the wetlands of Asia. 
   
   For the latest episode, titled "Cats in Every Corner," filmmakers captured never-before-seen views of black-footed cats by collaborating with researcher Alexander Sliwa, a curator at the Cologne Zoo in Germany who has studied the black-footed cat since the 1990s. Through Sliwa, the series' makers gained access to several small cats that had already been fitted with radio collars at a study site in South Africa, "Super Cats" producer Gavin Boyland told Live Science. 
   
   Filming the tiny cats proved unusually challenging, Boyland said. Because the black-footed cats are so small, they're harder to track through tall grasses than big cats are. Since the little cats hunt mostly at night, the production crew needed to use a special light-sensitive camera to detect the felines at all, recording footage of hunting behavior that had never been captured before, Boyland explained. 
   
   And when it comes to hunting, as the filmmakers saw, the black-footed cat is extraordinarily efficient — "a real powerhouse," said Luke Hunter, Chief Conservation Officer at Panthera, a global wildcat-conservation organization. 
   
   Hunter, who served as a scientific consultant for "Super Cats," explained that small predators like the black-footed cat have accelerated metabolisms, which they need to keep fueled all the time, "so they're constantly hunting," he said. 
   
   Black-footed cats are found only in three countries: Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Credit: Copyright Alexander Sliwa 
   
   Black-footed cats use three very different techniques to nab their prey. One method is known as "fast hunting," in which the cats bound quickly and "almost randomly" through the tall grass, flushing out small prey such as birds or rodents, Hunter said. Another of their methods takes them on a slower course through their habitat, with the cats weaving quietly and carefully to sneak up on potential prey. 
   
   Finally, they use a sit-and-wait approach near rodents' burrows, a technique called still hunting, Hunter said. 
   
   "They wait for up to 2 hours, [staying] absolutely immobile, just silently waiting at the burrow for a rodent to appear. And then they nab it," Hunter told Live Science. 
   
   In one night, a black-footed cat kills between 10 and 14 rodents or small birds, averaging a kill about every 50 minutes, according to Hunter. With a 60 percent success rate, black-footed cats are about three times as successful as lions, which average a successful kill about 20 to 25 percent of the time, Hunter said. 
   
   "If you're a gazelle or a wildebeest, a black-footed cat isn't at all deadly. But those success rates make them the deadliest little cat on Earth," he said. 
   
   Livestock grazing reduces the habitats of black-footed cats, which hunt birds, rodents and even insects that inhabit grassland ecosystems. Credit: Copyright Alexander Sliwa 
   
   Black-footed cats represent but one species in a highly diverse feline family, many of which are difficult to observe in the wild and are not well-understood. And though most of the felines that appear in "Super Cats" face serious threats of habitat loss and destruction from human activity, conservation efforts can yet preserve vulnerable populations, Hunter said. 
   
   "I believe it's mostly not doom and gloom. But if we don't actively conserve these species, if we don't work to reduce those threats, then we could lose some of these animals," he added. 
   
   Episode 2 of "Super Cats" is available to stream beginning today (Nov. 1). You can also watch Episode 1 — "Extreme Lives" — and learn more about the miniseries on the PBS Nature website and on PBS apps. Episode 3, "Science and Secrets," premieres Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). 
   
   Originally published on Live Science.
target: – The world's deadliest cat is no leopard or tiger—in fact, it's the size of a house cat and appears just as cuddly. But the black-footed cat of southern Africa can hunt the grasslands like no other, Live Science reports. The PBS series Super Cats follows them on nightly forays, showing how they hunt and explaining why they kill more prey in a night than a leopard does in half a year. German zoo curator Luke Hunter helped by fitting several black-footed cats with radio collars, enabling the crew to track them in tall grasses. "If you're a gazelle or a wildebeest, a black-footed cat isn't at all deadly," says Hunter, who has studied the cats since the 1990s. "But those success rates make them the deadliest little cat on Earth." And the black-footed cat has tricks. It can hunt by bounding randomly through grass, sneaking up on prey in a weaving pattern, or waiting patiently by burrows for a meal to emerge. They can "wait for up to 2 hours, absolutely immobile, just silently waiting at the burrow for a rodent to appear," Hunter says. "And then they nab it." They kill 10 to 14 small birds and rodents nightly, or about one every 50 minutes—a constant hunt necessary to supply their active metabolisms. Like most felines in the series, the black-footed cat is endangered, but Hunter accentuates the positive: "I believe it's mostly not doom and gloom," he says, but "if we don't work to reduce those threats, then we could lose some of these animals." See the episode at PBS. (Or see why a judge has halted grizzly bear hunts around Yellowstone National Park.)