GRASSCUTTER TRAP GONE WILD: A FELINE VISITOR

It was on the 26th of December, 2023, very early in the morning around 5am. I went out with a torchlight to see if my trap had caught the grasscutter that I expected, only to realise that my grasscutter trap had gotten me a wild surprise. Yes, I intended to trap a grasscutter but nature had other plans. The wild cat was really beautiful with strong and powerful paws and sharp claws that can tear off It's prey.
The wild cat could stare at me even when the day had not completely broken. Her eyes were glowing gold. The fur was rough, black combined with grey, dust-coloured, perfect for hiding in bushes. The pink on her face was a reaction to an insecticide that my dad had spread into her face. Don't be quick to judge because Nigeria is not America that loves keeping such animals as pets. There was no intention of letting the animal live. Since it was pre-dawn, we left the animal there to come back and visit her in the morning. You can't imagine how beautiful this wild cat was. She had really beautiful postures which made us had some fun that day.

I was never that kind of regular hunter or had any experience in trapping animals. The trap was never mine,the feline was never planned. The trap you see there was brought from my village from a friend. There was a grasscutter that we used to see around then but rarely. The grasscutter was really fresh and healthy and was responsible for eating my mum's vegetable leaf in our small pumpkin farm at the backyard. This was the essence of the trap and while it was brought all the way from our village which is about a thousand kilometres or thereabouts from our home in the town. This also marked my first time setting a trap and equally my first successful catch. The cat was really unlucky because what was meant for the grasscutter became the Wild cat's downfall.

Because of this, I decided that day to appear in the cat's colours. It was crazy but I thought it would be fun to wear the cat's colours which made me appear just as you have seen.

Neighbours came around to see the beautiful wild cat. Our home became a tourist centre in the morning.

I was really a lucky young man since I didn't have my chicken eaten by the wild cat. It was also my first time keeping birds with the hope of selling them off at the month's end. Though I had already sold some of the birds before then and a few were left behind. I was indeed really lucky that this animal didn't eat my birds. This is because one of the neighbours that came around confirmed that this wild cat was responsible for killing her local fowl and that she had seen the cat before on the fence that demarcated our house from theirs. To us, this was our first time setting eyes on her. I was lucky. I don't know about my fowl if they were lucky as well because normally,they would still end up being slaughtered. It's funny.

We played and enjoyed ourselves with the wild cat and then we understood why the Americans keep animals as pets for pleasure. It was really a nice moment of fun..

The feline took so many postures for us and I wish I had a professional photographer as bossj23, a moderator of Steem4Nigeria and steemkids and parents communities, around. The memories would never grow old. The cat, myself and all my family members were happy in our new tourist centre. You could hear the voice of my brother in the video content telling the feline to strike a post.

That same morning,we saw one of her claws close to our gate, broken. We wondered what she was fighting with that night...
It was at this moment that I remembered that my brother had once said that he usually heard the cry of wild animals fighting near his window. It was this moment that things unclear where made clear.

The wild cat stayed in our home for two more nights before it was finally taken to my village inside the cage. Afterall we were just novice in hunting and wild life stuff,so we did not know how to get it out without the animal either hunting us or even running away. So taking the wild cat to the village was the only option. Before now, neighbours who love eating bush meat came around to buy the animal at around 7 thousand to 10 thousand naira but we didn't sell. We also had plans to sell out the animal to zoo keepers but it was rare to see such persons around, afterall it's Nigeria not a white man's country that do pet things.

When the feline finally arrived our village,it was handed over into the capable hands,the hands that so many wild animals had suffered. The journey was in the morning and in the night, my father returned. The wild cat was slaughtered in the village by a professional and part of the animal was eaten in the village. The wild cat was so delicious because I also tasted it, as part of it was brought back. My mum and one of my brothers rejected it but myself that eats everything eatable did not waste time. With my Chef experience and zeal in the kitchen matters, I fried the animal and used it with my rice. Myself and my sister were the only persons who ate it while I kept the fried animal,some, for my father. The animal was not bony but fleshy and I really enjoyed eating it. The cat really came at the right time because even my chicken were very costly to go inside the pot due to the high cost of chicken feed here in Nigeria. I don't have the photos of the cat while it was slaughtered because I didn't join my Dad to the village. I'm really sorry for that.

During the last days of the month of December when we visited village, I saw the skin of the animal nailed to the wall. When I saw the skin well carved, I only confirmed in my mind that indeed, the animal was left into the capable hands. One of my brothers,God's- generation, was interested in the Skin and he took it for his cultural custumes. The skin was really beautiful and attractive. I never took photos of the skin as at 2023 but I took a recent photo in June, 2025 for the purpose of this post.

One of the challenges we had then was to tell the name of this feline but we didn't know the name. When the cat arrived the village,the people there said that the Wild cat's name is Akôh in the Akwa Ibom language. Though they didn't know the English name for this cat. The people in the village also said that this cat has some resemblance to atan,(Akwa Ibom language) though the two animals where different.
Even till today,we have not been able to identify the English name for this beautiful wildlife.
During that time, I made some research to find out which specific cat was it from the felines family.
You will not believe what I got from my findings. My findings had it that this cat's true name is Felis lybica commonly known as African wildcat or bush cat or Savannah cat. But I am not still certain about my findings and I don't mind you share your thoughts or knowledge concerning this animal and her name.

After that moment I wished I could get in touch with an American or European that kept such animals so that I can make contact if I encounter such an animal again in life.

My name is Aniekeme Monday Emacha aka deportal. The Young man that intended to trap a grasscutter that usually destroyed my mum's vegetable leaf then.. but got a wild surprise at dawn.