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THE AFRICAN CARACAL

Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Species: Caracal caracal

The Caracal may resemble cougars and lynxes, but are more related to servals. They are named after the Turkish "karakulak", which means "black ear". Their range is from Africa to Asia. "Caracals are almost impossible to see in the wild, not because there are very few of them, but because they hide extremely well, and also known as the ‘illusive Caracal’. Game drives in countries such as Kenya and Botswana widely encounter other animals, but a sighting of a caracal is extremely rare."

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
This handsome small cat has dense short reddish-brown fur. Under parts of chin and body are white, and a narrow black line runs from the corner of the eye to the nose. Its ears are long, narrow and tipped with long black tufts of black hair. A juvenile has black on the outside of the ears which disappears as it becomes an adult. The pupils of a caracal's eyes contract to form circles rather than the slits found in most small cats.

A caracal has a long slender body, long legs and a tapering tail which is about a third as long as its body. Head and body length are as long as 35 inches, weight a maximum of 40 pounds. Sexes look alike.

ECOLOGY:
The caracal is found in the drier habitats, including savannah and woodland, as well as desert, and are absent only from the tropical rainforest.

HABITATS:
Desert, Dry savanna, Forest, Grassland, Hot Desert, Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation, Savanna, Shrubland, Subtropical / Tropical Dry Grassland, Subtropical / Tropical Dry Shrubland, Temperate forest and Temperate Grassland

DIET:
Diet includes birds, rodents, and other small mammals but also known to take down larger prey as well.

REPRODUCTION:
The young may be born at various times of year. A gestation period of 69-78 days is reported, and three young per litter are the norm. (1-6 young are possible.) Litters may be born and hidden in abandoned burrows, ant-bear hole, rock crevices or hollow trees,

Cubs are bright reddish-brown, then grow silvery hairs making them grayer than adults. Cubs often open their eyes after ten days, are weaned at 10-25 weeks, and become sexually mature between six and 24 months.

They breed readily in captivity. Captives have lived as long as 17 – 25 years

BEHAVIOUR:
The caracal is largely nocturnal but is sometimes seen by day, particularly in cooler portions of its range. It jumps and climbs well, and is a skillful, agile hunter. The caracal is renowned for catching low-flying birds and is known to take out 8-10 birds in one jump!
Caracals take a variety of small prey, and on occasion relatively large prey such as gazelles and antelope.
If pursued it defends itself vigorously and can be dangerous even to humans.

CONSERVATION:
Caracals are often viewed as vermin by farmers in Africa as they may prey on domesticated livestock such as poultry and young sheep and goats. Caracals are also shot and killed by ‘extremists’ for target practice in other countries as well. Caracals are rarely seen in the wild despite their relative abundance, as they hide extremely well.

STATUS:
Conservation Status: CITES Appendix 1 Endangered Only in the population of Asia. All others are listed on CITES Appendix 11 under category (Least Concern).

COUNTRIES:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, The, Ghana, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe