Animals On Earth: Africa

Caracal

The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a medium-sized wild that is around 1 metre (3.3 ft) long. The caracal is sometimes called the Desert Lynx or African Lynx. The caracal is native to Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, and India. The cat's name comes from the word "karakulak", which means "black ear".

Appearance

The caracal has large, tufted ears like a lynx. Its is reddish-gold. Caracals have white fur on the abdomen, chin and throat. Black lines run from the eye to the nose. Its fur coat is short and very dense. The ears are lightly colored in the front and the back is black. They have very long black tufts that are about 4.4 cm (1.8 in) and look like the ear tufts of a lynx. Males can weigh up to 18 kilograms (40 lb), and females up to 16 kilograms (35 lb). Caracals are about 40 centimetres (16 in) to 50 centimetres (20 in) tall at the shoulder. Caracals have a short tail. The male and female look the same.

The caracal's speed and agility makes them very good hunters; they are able to take down prey two to three times their size. Their powerful hind legs allow them to leap more than 3 meters into the air to catch birds like hornbills, and guinea fowls on the wing.

The caracal inhabits woodlands, savannas, semi-deserts, and scrub-forests. Although it usually hunts on the ground, it can climb trees and swim swiftly to catch fish. They are not found in tropical rain forests.

Like most cats, caracals have a very broad diet. It mainly consumes small mammals and birds. It also preys upon the babies of larger mammals, such as the impala and antelope or even eat the adults even wildebeest and warthogs if really hungry. Caracals sometimes eat lizards, sankes, and insects.

but leopards are known to kill and eat them.

Some raise caracals in programs. The ethics and safety of having a caracal as a is debated. Although they are easy to tame, caracals are very active and territorial.