Caracal Facts

About the caracal

A caracal has long legs, a short face, long canine teeth and a fairly short tail. The coat is an even reddish tan or sandy color, lighter underneath with small reddish markings. It stands 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) at the shoulder and weighs 8 to 19 kg (18 to 42 lb). Beyond Africa, it ranges through the Middle East and Central Asia into dry parts of Pakistan and northwestern India.

Mostly active at night and very secretive, the caracal is hard to spot. It holds a territory and lives alone or in pairs. Birds, rodents and other small mammals are its usual prey. Jumping more than 3 m (9.8 ft) into the air, it can snatch birds in flight. On the ground it creeps within 5 m (16 ft) of prey, then sprints and kills it by biting the throat or the back of the neck.

Did you know?

• In 1776, Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber, a German naturalist, first described the caracal.
• Caracal litters have one to six kittens after a pregnancy of two to three months.
• Captive caracals live nearly 16 years on average.