Caracal

The caracal is a wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It has a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears and a uniformly reddish tan or sandy coat, standing 40 to 50 cm (16-20 in) at the shoulder and weighing 8 to 19 kg (18-42 lb). Typically nocturnal, it is highly secretive and difficult to observe, and it is territorial and lives mainly alone or in pairs. It preys on birds, rodents and other small mammals, stalking to within 5 m (16 ft) before running its target down and killing it with a bite to the throat or the back of the neck.

About the caracal

The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a medium-sized wild cat of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and northwestern India. It is known for its long black ear tufts, sandy coat and long legs. Its closest relative is the African golden cat, and together with the serval the two form the caracal lineage of cats.

The name comes from the Turkish "Karrah-kulak" or "Kara-coulac," meaning "black ear," and was proposed by Georges Buffon in 1761. The cat is also called the desert lynx or Persian lynx, and the "lynx" of the ancient Greeks and Romans was probably the caracal. Despite those names it is not a true lynx; modern lynxes belong to a separate genus. Three subspecies are recognized: the southern caracal of southern and East Africa, the northern caracal of North and West Africa, and the Asiatic caracal.

The caracal is a slender but robustly built cat with a short face, long canines and long legs. Its hind legs are longer than its front legs, so the body slopes downward from the rump. It stands roughly 40–50 cm (16–20 in) at the shoulder. Males measure 78–108 cm (31–43 in) from head to rump with a tail of 21–34 cm (8.3–13.4 in) and weigh 7.2–19 kg (16–42 lb). Females are smaller, at 71–103 cm (28–41 in) long and 7–15.9 kg (15–35 lb).

The face is boldly marked. Black ear tufts about 4.5 cm (1.8 in) long crown the ears, two black stripes run from the forehead to the nose, the mouth is outlined in black, and white patches surround the eyes and mouth. The upper eyelid sits low, which makes the eyes look half closed and probably shields them from the sun's glare. The coat is a uniform reddish tan or sand color with a paler belly, though black caracals are also known. The short, dense fur grows coarser in summer.

Behavior and diet

The caracal is typically nocturnal, though it can be active by day, and it is so secretive that daytime activity often goes unnoticed. A study in South Africa found caracals most active when the air temperature drops below 20 °C (68 °F). They are solitary and territorial, living alone or in pairs; the only groups are mothers with kittens. They mark rocks and plants with urine and probably dung, and scratch with their claws.

Territories can be large. In Israel, males hold areas averaging 220 km² (85 sq mi) and females 57 km² (22 sq mi), while male territories in Saudi Arabia range from 270 to 1,116 km² (104–431 sq mi). Caracals signal to each other by moving their heads from side to side so their ear tufts flicker. Like other cats they meow, growl, hiss, spit and purr.

Small mammals usually make up at least 80% of the diet. Caracals also take small monkeys and the young of larger antelopes such as kudu, impala, springbok and gazelles, with lizards, snakes and insects filling out the rest. In South Africa, typical prey includes Cape grysbok, common duiker, rock hyrax and Cape hare. Caracals have even been estimated to cause about 11% of African penguin deaths in the Simon's Town breeding colony between 1999 and 2021.

Speed and agility let a caracal take prey two to three times its own size. Its powerful hind legs launch it more than 3 m (9.8 ft) into the air to catch birds on the wing, and it can twist and change direction mid-leap. It stalks to within about 5 m (16 ft), then sprints. Antelopes are suffocated with a throat bite, while smaller prey is killed with a bite to the back of the neck. The caracal is also a capable climber.

Breeding happens year-round. After two to three months of pregnancy, the female gives birth to one to six kittens in dense vegetation or in abandoned burrows dug by aardvarks or porcupines. Kittens open their eyes by about ten days, start eating solid food at five to six weeks, and make their first kill at nearly three months. They disperse at nine to ten months, though a few females stay with their mothers.

Range and habitat

In Africa, the caracal is widespread south of the Sahara but considered rare in North Africa. In Asia it ranges from the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to western India. It lives in more than 50 countries in all.

It uses forest, savanna, marshy lowlands, semidesert and scrub forest, but prefers dry areas with low rainfall and enough cover to hunt from. In mountains such as the Ethiopian Highlands it reaches 3,000 m (9,800 ft). In some places it lives close to people: in southwestern Turkey caracals use a reserve that is also used for recreation and farming, though they avoid humans and are mostly active at night.

At the edges of its range the caracal is scarce. In India it now occurs only in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and the Indian population may be under 100. In Uzbekistan it has been recorded only in desert regions, with 15 animals seen alive between 2000 and 2017 and at least 11 killed by herders.

Caracal vs lynx vs serval

The caracal is often confused with the lynx because both have tufted ears, and with the serval, a long-legged African cat in the same lineage. The coat and ears are the easiest clues.

The African golden cat, the caracal's closest relative, has a similar build but is darker and lacks ear tufts. The serval also has longer legs, a longer tail and smaller footprints than the caracal. See the serval and Canada lynx for more on those cats.

Conservation status

The caracal has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2002, because it is widespread across more than 50 countries. That global picture hides big regional differences. The caracal is thought to be close to extinction in North Africa, critically endangered in Pakistan and endangered in Jordan, but stable in central and southern Africa. In Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the Central Asian population is listed as Critically Endangered nationally.

Habitat loss from farming, roads and settlements is a major threat everywhere. People also kill caracals to protect livestock or in revenge for lost sheep and goats, they are captured for the pet trade on the Arabian Peninsula, and in Turkey and Iran many die on roads.

Under CITES, African populations are listed in Appendix II and Asian populations in Appendix I. Hunting caracals is banned in 17 countries, including India, Iran, Israel, Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey.