Caracal Facts

Caracal Facts

1. Their name is derived from the Turkish word "karakal" which means "black ears".

2. Caracals are flat-headed and brown to red in color, with tasseled black ears.

3. While the Cheetah is the fastest cat on earth, the Caracal is undoubtedly the quickest

4. Caracals will take a wide variety of prey that include small or young antelope, rodents, hares, hyraxes, birds and lizards. 

5. Birds are caught while roosting or batted down while flying. 

6. Although they are excellent runners, caracals use the stalk and strike hunting technique, common to most felines. They are also excellent leapers and climbers. They are primarily crepuscular hunters but may hunt at night during hot weather; in Asia they are diurnal during the winter. 

7. Caracals are solitary and territorial. 

8. When they are not active, they use dens that may be found in crevices in rocks,hollows under tree roots, grass mounds or abandoned dens or other animals. 

9. In India, caracals were once used as hunting cats, used primarily for hunting birds.

`10. The pupils of a caracal's eyes contract to circles rather than slits. 

11. It hunts at night for rodents and hares; rarely it may even attack a gazelle, a small antelope or a young ostrich. 

12. It is a picky eater.  Caracals are primarily carnivorous. Small mammals and especially birds of all sizes. 

13. Caracals are also known to eat hedgehogs, lizards, mongoose, rodents, snakes and even vegetable matter and insects. 

14. The caracal is an endangered species. Caracal are mostly killed by farmers, because of predation on their livestock. In some areas of their range they are killed for their skin and meat by bush people. 

15. Caracals are rare but they are not on the United States endangered list. In Namibia and South Africa, the Caracal is classified as a Problem Animal, which permits landowners to kill the species without restriction.  Nonetheless, Caracal remain widespread, and are present in many large, and well managed protected areas across their vast range. 

16. This species is widespread and relatively common in eastern and southern Africa. In South Africa and Namibia. they are expanding their range into new areas. However, in the forests of central and west Africa densities are apparently lower, possibly due to the presence of a larger number of other carnivores.

17. The Caracal is the quickest and one of the most unique wild cat ever. 

18. A hungry caracal will leap 10 feet to swipe a bird out of the air.  

19. The Caracal’s whiskers are as unique as human finger prints.

20. They are very interesting and have very unique characteristics. The Caracal pronounced (Kar-Ruh-Kal) is a very different but amazing animal. 

21. Caracal’s tan fur helps them blend in to their surroundings.

22. Caracal’s hind legs are long and muscled to help it climb and jump.

23. Caracal’s tails help them balance.

24. Caracal’s teeth are pointed to help tear meat.

25. Caracals have black markings around their eyes to help them see in the sun.

26. Caracal’s pointed ears help them hear their prey.

27. Caracals exhibit the strange behavior of burying their food to keep it safe.

28. The ears of these cats are black and topped with long black tufts or tassels about 1 3/4 inches long.  There are many theories about the function of the ear tufts. Some researchers say the tufts act as antennas to help the cat hear, offering an added advantage in pinpointing prey. Others say the tufts keep flies out of the cat’s face. It is also believed that the ear tufts help to camouflage the animal in tall grass by breaking up the outline of its head. The most widely accepted theory is that the cat twitches the ear tufts as a means to communicate with other caracals.

29. Caracal mothers will make a den in an abandoned aardvark or porcupine burrow and will have a litter of several kittens born tiny and helpless with their eyes sealed shut. 

30. Like the rest of the small cats, they may purr when content and make a variety of other mews, growls, and hisses to express their mood. 

31. In addition to the caracal, there’s the sand cat, serval, golden cat, African wild cat, black-footed cat, and  swamp cat All these cats are small (the caracal is the largest of them), but like their big relatives, they hunt for a living. 

32. Like cheetahs, caracals were captured and trained to hunt for Indian royalty.

33. The caracal is the fastest cat in its size range. 

34. Sometimes called a desert lynx or African lynx because of its tufted ears,it is not a lynx at all.