Derivation of scientific name: The name ‘caracal’ originates from a Turkish word ‘karakulak’, which means ‘black eared’.
Common names: African caracal, African lynx, Asian caracal, Persian lynx, caracal lynx, desert lynx (Eng.); rooikat (Afr.).
Introduction
Caracals are primarily solitary and territorial animals like most other felines. They usually form pairs during the mating season and small mother–child groups. Adult males maintain their territory, patrolling large areas, marking them with urine and faeces, and defending them against other adult males. Male ranges are up to three times larger than females’ ranges and can overlap many female ranges. Typical feline vocalisations include growls, spits, hisses, meows and a distinctive loud cough resembling a leopard’s mating cry. When happy, it purrs similar to a domestic cat. Caracals are nocturnal, however, they may be seen during the daytime in areas where there is less human disturbance/activity.
Description/How to recognise a caracal
Caracals are impressive medium-sized wild cats with powerfully built, long legs, broad front legs, short tails and pointed ears with long tufts of fur. In South Africa, the caracal is also known as the ‘rooikat’ or ‘lynx’. The caracal’s most distinctive feature is its pointed, bushy ears. They have short, dense fur and a range of colours (depending on geographic location), ranging from light sable to reddish fawn or light cinnamon to dark brown, reddish-grey or dark brick-red. It looks mostly monochromatic, but upon closer inspection, you can see subtle black and white markings on its face and a white ‘belly’ with dramatic patches of red. Males can weigh up to 18 kg, while females weigh slightly less, an averaging 16 kg. From the shoulder, these wild cats reach a height of about 40–50 cm and a body length of 88–99 cm.
Getting around
Caracals move around by walking, running and they also climb trees similar to leopards. Caracals have strong hind legs, which allow them to jump up to three meters high to catch birds with their claws.
Communication
Caracals have excellent hearing and vision; they communicate with growls, hisses, barks, meows and spits. They show tactile communication, such as cuddling and fighting, during the mating season.
Distribution
Caracal has a wide geographical range, from North Africa and Turkey to the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. It is also found throughout Africa, with the exception of the Sahara and Namib deserts, and the dense forests of Congo and West Africa. Unlike most felines, caracals prefer open areas and can tolerate dry conditions. However, cats need some form of cover such as trees, shrubs, or rocks. Caracals are found throughout South Africa and prefer open areas of woody savannas and rocky hills.
Habitat
They live in woodlands, savannas and bushes, but avoid sandy deserts. In southern Africa they usually live in the highlands. Caracals typically use abandoned porcupine burrows and rock crevices as denning sites, but can be found with young in dense vegetation.
Food
The diet of caracal varies depending on the geographic region in which they are found, but caracal are known to be strictly carnivorous. Although the majority of their diet consists of prey species, they are not selective and are known to feed frequently on rodents, rabbits, rock hyrax, small monkeys and small antelope. They hunt a variety of birds, from pigeons and game birds like guinea fowl and francolins to congeals and eagles. They are also known to prey on other small predators. They will eat reptiles like lizards and venomous snakes, and invertebrates like insects and scorpions. They don’t usually scavenge.
Sex and life cycles
Sex
Few studies have examined caracal reproduction in the wild. However, females give birth once a year on average and their gestation period is 62 to 81 days. Caracal litter sizes range from one to four kittens, with an average litter size of two. It is believed that kittens start eating meat at four weeks of age and are weaned between four and six months. Young kittens develop quickly and can become fully independent by 10–12 months. Males can reproduce at 12–15 months and females at 14–16 months. The maximum lifespan of a caracal in the wild is 12 years, although population survival rates to adulthood and median ages of death vary by region and are subject to human activities and diseases introduced by domestic cats.
Family life
Caracals are solitary except when mating and rearing kittens. Both males and females have a sense of territory and have an active home range. A male’s territory may overlap with many other males, however, the females’ territories do not overlap.
The big picture
Friends and foes
Caracal play a role in population control of prey species such as rodents. They are opportunists in their diet, eating the best and minimising the energy needed to hunt and kill. Caracal is one of the few species in some regions that can kill certain types of prey. The known predators of caracal are lions (Panthera leo),leopards (Panthera pardus) and hyenas (family Hyaenidae). To protect themselves from predators they camouflage on open habitat by lying flat with their plain, brown coat.
Smart strategies
Caracals have long, strong hind legs and can leap up to three meters to catch birds in flight. They are capable of catching up to 12 birds in one jump. The caracal’s impressive speed and maneuverability make it a formidable predator. It can handle prey three times its size.
Poorer world without me
Caracals are important to control the population of animals in the wild and they also play an important role in controlling the population of rodents, which are agriculture and household pests that carry diseases.
People and I
In India and Persia, caracals were once trained to catch game and deer, so they provided both food and entertainment. West and central African bushmeat and leather provide people with food and a small profit, however the caracal skin is in low demand. The South African Air Force has trained a special group of caracals to keep their runways clear of flocks of birds, thus reducing air strikes that can damage planes. Interestingly, the South African Military designed an armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76 mm high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes and named it the ‘Rooikat’. Historically, farmers in some areas regarded caracal as ‘vermin’ that killed their livestock, especially sheep and chickens, and this attitude may still hold in some farming and rural communities. However, caracal is now a protected species.
Conservation status and what the future holds
The caracal’s main problem is habitat loss in North, Central and West Africa and Asia. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists Asian populations in Appendix I and all other populations in Appendix II. This means that Asian populations cannot be traded for commercial reasons, but trade related to scientific research is permitted. Appendix II stipulates that trade in these animals shall be controlled by issuing permits where they do not harm the species.
Relatives
Caracals are distantly related to lynxes of which there are four species, namely Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), Iberian lynx (L. pardinus), bobcat (L. rufus), Canada lynx (L. canadensis). Their closest relative is the African golden cat (Caracal aurata). Caracals and serval (Leptailurus serval) are descended from the caracal lineage.
Scientific name and classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Caracal
Species: C. caracal (Schreber, 1776)
References and further reading
- Avgan, B., Henschel, P. & Ghoddousi, A. 2016. Caracal caracal (errata version published in 2016). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T3847A102424310. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T3847A50650230.en. Accessed on 29 March 2023.
- Phillips, L. 2009. ‘Caracal caracal’ (on-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed 16 March 2023 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Caracal_caracal/.
- Smithers, R.H. 2012. Smithers mammals of southern Africa. Penguin Random House, South Africa.
- Skinner, J.D., Smithers, R.H.N. 1990.The mammals of the southern African subregion. University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Authors
Michael Ndovu
E-mail: M.Ndovu@sanbi.org.za
Elton le Roux
E-mail: er.leroux@sanbi.org.za