Caracal

The caracal is a wild cat with a sandy, reddish-tan coat, long legs and, best of all, long black tufts on its ears. It lives in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and dry parts of Pakistan and northwestern India, in savanna, desert, grassland and hills.

The name comes from a Turkish phrase meaning "black ear". Caracals are shy, mostly nocturnal and usually live alone, so they are hard to see in the wild. They are famous for jumping: a caracal can leap higher than 3 metres to snatch a bird out of the air. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern.

How does a caracal hunt?

A caracal creeps up on its prey until it is within about 5 metres, then runs it down and kills it with a bite to the throat or the back of the neck. It eats birds, rodents and other small mammals. Strong hind legs let it jump more than 3 metres high, which is how it catches birds in mid-air. It stands 40 to 50 centimetres at the shoulder and weighs about 8 to 19 kilograms.

Family life and names

Caracals are territorial and live mostly alone or in pairs. They can breed all year round. After two to three months, a mother has one to six kittens, and the young leave her at nine to ten months old. In zoos they live almost 16 years on average. People also call the caracal the desert lynx, but it is not a true lynx. It is the only species in its own genus, Caracal.

On the globe

The model stands in the dry lands of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. Look for the long, black ear tufts.