Caracal
Status: Uncommon
Name: Caracal, Caracal Lynx
Species: Felis [Caracal] caracal
Weight: 35-50 pounds
Head/Body: 29 inches
Tail: 9 inches
Subspecies: 9
The largest African lesser cat and an exceptional climber and jumper, the caracal is a slenderly built cat with long legs and a short, sharply tapered tail. It resembles a cross between a leopard and a lynx. Its coat is reddish-brown with distinctive tufted ears and white markings around its eyes and on its throat, chin, and belly. Caracals have been known to live up to eighteen years in captivity.
A hunting caracal will move about quietly on the ground seeking small animals that are feeding- birds of all sizes, and the young of the larger grazing animals. When it finds prey, it will use its great speed and agility to catch the unsuspecting creature and, after killing it, drag it up a tree for later consumption.
The caracal may be found in the deserts, scrub, savannahs, mountains and rocky areas of Africa, Arabia, and southern Asia as far east as India, where it hunts by night, from the ground, and seeks small animals, birds of all sizes, and the young of the larger grazing animals.
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