Wild Cats of the World

IUCN RED LIST (2008): Least Concern

Head-body length ♀ 61−103cm, ♂ 62.1−108cm

Tail 18−34cm

Weight ♀ 6.2−15.9kg, ♂ 7.2−26.0kg

The Caracal was formerly classified in the genus Lynx due to morphological similarities with the true lynxes, but the resemblance is superficial and there is no close relationship; the alternative common names ‘African Lynx’ and ‘Desert Lynx’ are misnomers. It is now classified with its closest relative, the African Golden Cat, in the genus Caracal. Together with the Serval, the genus comprises the Caracal lineage that diverged around 8.5 million years ago. Nine subspecies of Caracal are recognised, seven in Africa and two in the Middle East and Asia, based largely on minor differences in colouration which vary widely, and their validity is dubious.

The Caracal is a medium-sized, powerfully built cat with a shortish tail that reaches the hind heels. Muscular and slightly elongated hindlegs give the hindquarters an elevated appearance, especially in adult males. The head is heavily built with large, distinctive ears, which are black-backed and liberally flecked with white hairs, with very long, black tufts. The tufts’ function is unclear but they probably enhance visual communication between Caracals together with the bold, contrasting facial markings. Background colour varies from pale sandy-brown or pinkish-fawn to rich brick-red, with pale underparts. Caracals from arid regions tend to be pale, including very light sand-coloured individuals from the Middle East. The Caracal is largely unmarked, except for faint spots and blotches on the underparts in some individuals. Very dark chocolate-brown individuals occur rarely and true melanism is exceptional; three entirely black specimens are known from Kenya and Uganda. A dark grey morph, often with typically coloured extremities, occurs in Israel.

Similar species The Caracal is very distinctive. In Africa, it resembles the African Golden Cat at a glance, though the two species are largely divided by range. Caracals might be confused for uniformly coloured ‘servaline’ individuals of Serval in West and Central African savannas. Its lynx-like appearance might cause confusion in its Asiatic range, though it co-occurs with the Eurasian Lynx only in a few scattered pockets along a very narrow band of sympatry across south-west Tajikistan, north-east Iran and south-east Turkey.

The function of the Caracal’s extraordinary ear tufts is unclear. One theory suggests that the long tassels help to channel high-frequency sounds into the dish of the ear, although this has never been scientifically tested (C).

The Caracal occurs in most of Africa except for true desert and rainforest regions; in southern Turkey and the Middle East excluding the Arabian Peninsula interior; and in south-west Asia from the east coast of the Caspian Sea to central India. Caracals have a broad habitat tolerance, able to occupy more open and more arid habitats than other, similarly sized cats. They favour all kinds of dry woodland savannas, dry forest, grasslands, coastal scrub, semi-desert and arid hilly or mountainous habitat. Caracals inhabit evergreen and montane forest in certain regions, typically in forested pockets surrounded by more open habitat, for example in the Ethiopian Highlands. They do not inhabit open, true desert areas of the Arabian Peninsula, Namib and Sahara, but they occur in rocky habitat, inselbergs and watercourses located deep into very arid habitat. They do not occur in equatorial forests of Central and West Africa and are largely absent from a wide transitional band of forest-savanna mosaic surrounding the Congo Basin. Caracals are recorded to 2,260m in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, and exceptionally to 3,300m in the Ethiopian Highlands. They tolerate pastoral and agricultural landscapes provided there is cover, and are recorded from eucalpytus and pine plantations.

The Caracal is a formidable hunter with very muscular, elongated hindlegs enabling explosive bursts of speed and spectacular, vertical leaps. Compared to the similarly sized Serval, the forepaws are relatively massive with well-developed claws, and the skull, dentition and biting temporalis and masseter muscles are very robust. These adaptations reflect the Caracal’s prodigious ability to bring down large mammals up to four times its weight, though few populations specialise in oversized prey. Generally, frequent kills of small mammals weighing less than 5kg are supplemented by occasional, larger kills weighing up to 50kg. Mammals comprise 69.8 per cent (West Coast National Park, South Africa) to 93–95 per cent (Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa) of the diet. In South Africa’s Cape provinces, the most important prey items are Rock Hyrax, rodents, Klipspringer, Grey Rhebok, Cape Grysbok, Steenbok, Mountain Reedbuck, Springbok and duikers. Almost 60 per cent of the diet in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa) is made up of Spring Hare, Highveld Gerbil, Brants’s Whistling Rat and Striped Mouse. The most important prey in Turkmenistan is Tolai Hare, Great Gerbil and various jerboa species. The largest recorded prey of Caracals includes adult Bushbuck, Impala ewes and young Greater Kudu. Juvenile and yearling Barbary Sheep, Dorcas Gazelle and Goitered Gazelle are recorded from the Sahara and Asia. Small carnivores are opportunistically preyed upon, the largest confirmed species being Black-backed Jackals and Red Foxes; 10 per cent of the diet in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park comprises Bat-eared Fox, Cape Fox, Yellow Mongoose, African Wild Cat and Striped Polecat. Domestic cats and Egyptian Mongooses are recorded as occasional prey in Israel.

After mammals, the most important prey category is made up of birds, mainly guineafowls, francolins, quails, partridges, sandgrouse, doves, pigeons and small passerines. Larger species, including Kori Bustard and Indian Peafowl (‘peacock’), are also killed and even the Ostrich is recorded in Caracal scats. It is unclear how often they kill adult Ostriches, but there is one reliable record of an adult taken while bedded down. Large raptors, including Martial Eagle, Steppe Eagle and Tawny Eagle, are killed rarely, predominantly while roosting at night. Reptiles up to the size of large snakes and monitors are eaten; reptiles comprise 12−17 per cent of the diet in West Coast National Park. Amphibians, fish and invertebrates are occasionally consumed. Beetles appear in around a quarter of all Kgalagadi Caracal scats but they contribute a negligible amount to actual intake. Caracals kill small livestock, most often where stock is free-ranging and unattended, combined with wild prey being scarce; livestock comprises 3.6−55 per cent of the diet in farming areas in southern Africa. Domestic fowl are readily taken.

Caracals generally hunt at night and crepuscularly. Diurnal activity is more common during cooler periods, often reflecting reduced prey densities during the lean season and/or diurnal activity of preferred prey; for example, Kgalagadi Caracals rely considerably on diurnal Brants’s Whistling Rats. Caracals are also more likely to be diurnal when protected from persecution. Most hunting takes place on the ground but the Caracal is a very capable climber, and the kills of roosting birds high in trees testify to some arboreal hunting ability. Caracals locate prey primarily by sight and hearing, followed by stalking to within 5m or waiting in ambush before rushing the prey. Based on reconstructing hunting sequences from tracks, two-thirds of hunts in the Kgalagadi involve no stalk at all; on sighting prey, these Caracals hunt primarily by waiting in ambush before initiating a chase as prey comes close, or launching directly into a chase as soon as the prey is spotted. The Caracal’s final sprint is explosive – the species is often regarded as the fastest of smaller cats, though there are no reliable measurements. Caracals chase prey for up to 379m but most chases are considerably shorter, averaging 12m for small prey and 56m for large prey (Kgalagadi). The Caracal is marvellously athletic, able to leap at least 2m high from a stationary position and at least 4.5m long while running. Its ability to catch birds in flight is well known, occasionally knocking down several birds in one spectacular leap, a skill for which it was formerly tamed by various Asian cultures. Small prey species are killed by biting the skull or nape while ungulates are asphyxiated with a throat bite. This is often accompanied by powerful raking of the prey’s belly or chest with the claws of the hindfeet, leaving distinctive, deep claw marks on carcasses. A combination of two bites, to the nape and throat, has been observed, for example by Kgalagadi Caracals when killing African Wild Cats, perhaps indicating the Caracal shifting position depending on the defence mounted by the victim.

Hunting success rates are poorly known. Kgalagadi Caracals kill prey on 10 per cent of hunts based on spoor-tracking, but this method probably underestimates kill rates of small prey when no remains are left. The success rate for large prey in the same study was 20 per cent. On average, these Caracals make a hunting attempt every 1.6km and make a kill every 16.3km. In Sariska Tiger Reserve, India, each Caracal is estimated to eat 2,920 to 3,285 rodents per year.

Caracals cache large kills in thick cover and return to feed for up to four or five nights. Larger prey are seldom dragged far but are eaten on site or moved a few metres if cover is available. Caracals do not eat the main bones of large carcasses, often leaving the entire, articulated skeleton of ungulates with all soft tissue and small or cartilaginous bones consumed. Caracals readily scavenge, including by kleptoparasitism, especially from Black-backed Jackals (and vice versa). Camel and gazelle carcasses in Saudi Arabia are an important food source, and Cape Fur Seals are scavenged in coastal southern Africa. Hoisting kills into trees has been observed very rarely, perhaps in response to an immediate threat from another carnivore.

Among similar, mid-sized felids, the Caracal is found in more open and arid habitats than any other species. This individual was photographed at the edge of Etosha Pan in Namibia where spring-fed grass and sedges provide suitable cover.

Caracal populations on the Arabian Peninsula are restricted to coastal mountainous and desert habitat where their long-term future is in doubt. This individual was photographed in the Hawf Protected Area, Yemen.

Caracal ecology is poorly studied; limited information from radio-collaring studies in Israel and southern Africa shows a typical felid pattern. Adults are largely solitary and maintain enduring home ranges, usually with exclusive core areas and considerable overlap at the edges. Caracals display behaviours indicative of territorial defence such as scent-marking and scraping. Adults, especially males, often have extensive scarring to the face and ears presumably from intraspecific fighting.

Territories are large, though the telemetry data is biased towards drier habitats where larger ranges are to be expected. The smallest recorded ranges occur in the relatively mesic, coastal areas of the Western Cape, South Africa, ranging between 3.9 and 26.7km² (females) and 5.1−65km² (males). In the Arava Valley, Israel, ranges average 57km² (females) and 220km² (males). Based on very limited locations, Kgalagadi Caracals have average ranges of 67km² (females) to 308km² (males), while three Central Namibian males used 211.5−440km². An adult Saudi male collared for 11 months used 865km² with no evidence of a preferred core area (Harrat al-Harrah Protected Area, Saudi Arabia). There are few reliable density estimates – in a small protected area with abundant rodents and no competing large carnivores, adult Caracals reach approximately 15 individuals per 100km² (Postberg Nature Reserve).

Caracals reproduce year-round, with weak seasonality in climatically moderate parts of their range – births peak in October–February (South Africa) and November–May (East Africa). Seasonality may be more pronounced in areas with greater seasonal extremes. Oestrus lasts one to six days during which the male and female remain together. Up to three males have been recorded attending a receptive female, each of which was mated. Gestation is 68−81 days. Litters average two to three kittens, exceptionally reaching six. Kittens reach independence at 9−10 months old, and seem to follow a typical felid pattern of female philopatry and male dispersal. A male in Israel dispersed 60km and a young Kgalagadi male moved more than 100km in five months before being shot. Sexual maturity is 12−16 months for both sexes, and a captive female reproduced at 18 years.

Mortality Adult Caracals are occasionally killed by larger carnivores, mainly Lions and Leopards. Black-backed Jackals are recorded preying on young kittens, which are presumably vulnerable to a wide array of additional predators. Infanticide by males occurs, though the circumstances are unknown.

STATUS AND THREATS

The Caracal is widely distributed and relatively common in southern and East Africa. It is rare or relict in Central, West and North Africa but may be relatively secure in large protected areas. It is relatively widespread throughout the Middle East and Asian parts of its range but it probably always occurred there in low densities, now exacerbated by human threats so that the species is considered endangered in much of Asia.

Habitat degradation, loss of prey and persecution by people are significant threats in Central, West and North Africa and most of Asia. Caracals are hunted intensively on livestock land, especially in Namibia and South Africa where the Caracal is typically classified as a ‘problem animal’ outside protected areas and killed without restriction. Despite this, they are resilient in southern Africa, probably because of the high habitat suitability and prey availability combined with the lack of larger carnivores, and the Caracal is difficult to extirpate there. The Caracal’s ability to move large distances enables it to rapidly fill spaces created by chronic persecution. They are sport-hunted with few restrictions in much of East and southern Africa.

CITES Appendix I (Asia), Appendix II (Africa). Red List: Near Threatened. Population trend: Least Concern.