Taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The caracal (Caracal caracal) (/ˈkærəkæl/) is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India.
It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears,
relatively short tail, and long canine teeth.
Its coat is uniformly reddish tan or sandy, while the ventral parts are
lighter with small reddish markings.
It reaches 40–50 cm (16–20 in) at the shoulder and weighs 8–19 kg (18–42 lb). It was first scientifically escribed by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776. Three subspecies are recognised.
The name caracal
was proposed by Georges Buffon in 1761 who
referred to its Turkish name Karrah-kulak
or Kara-coulac
,
meaning black ear
.
The lynx
of the Greeks and Romans
was most probably the caracal, and the name lynx
is
sometimes still applied to it, but the present-day
lynx proper is a separate genus.
The caracal is also known as desert lynx and Persian lynx.
The caracal is a slender, moderately sized cat characterised by a robust
build, a short face, long canine teeth, tufted ears, and long legs.
It reaches nearly 40–50 cm (16–20 in) at the shoulder.
The tan, bushy tail extends to the hocks.
The caracal is sexually dimorphic; the females are smaller than
the males in most bodily parameters.
Male caracals measure in head-to-body length 78–108 cm (31–43 in) and have 21–34 cm (8.3–13.4 in) long tails; 77 male caracals ranged in weight between 7.2 and 19 kg (16 and 42 lb). The head-to-body length of females is 71–103 cm (28–41 in) with a tail of 18–31.5 cm (7.1–12.4 in); 63 females ranged in weight between 7 and 15.9 kg (15 and 35 lb).[19]
In Africa, the caracal is widely distributed south of the Sahara, but considered rare in North Africa. In Asia, it occurs from the Arabian Peninsula, Middle East, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan to western India.
It inhabits forests, savannas, marshy lowlands, semideserts, and scrub
forests, but prefers dry areas with low rainfall and availability of cover.
In montane habitats such as in the Ethiopian Highlands, it occurs up to an
elevation of 3,000 m (9,800 ft).
In south-western Turkey, caracals are present in a wildlife reserve in the
provinces of Antalya and Muğla that is regularly used for recreational
and agricultural activities. However, they avoid humans and are active
mostly at night.
In Uzbekistan, caracals were recorded only in the desert
regions of the Ustyurt Plateau and Kyzylkum Desert. Between 2000 and 2017,
15 individuals were sighted alive, and at least 11 were killed by herders.
n Iran, the caracal has been recorded in Abbasabad Naein Reserve, Bahram’gur Protected Area, Kavir National Park and in Yazd province.
In India, the caracal occurs in Sariska Tiger Reserve and Ranthambhore National Park. The Indian population may be under 100, and is thought extinct in 10 of the 13 Indian states it had historical populations in.
The caracal typically preys on mammals, which generally comprise at least 80% of its diet; and it also targets small Cercopithecidae monkeys and larger antelopes such as:
The remaining percentage is made up of lizards, snakes, insects and rodents.
- Young kudu
- Impala
- Mountain Gazelle
- Dorcas Gazelle
- Cape Bushbuck
- mountain reedbuck
- Springbok
- Rodents
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