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CARACAL Caracal caracal
Identification The Caracal is a powerful medium-sized cat with
hindquarters that are slightly higher than its shoulders and a short,
uniformly coloured tail. The coat ranges from uniform pale yellow-
fawn to a rich brick-red. The underparts vary from slightly paler than
the upperparts to off-white, and in some individuals faint spotting
may be present. The face is marked with black and white patches. The
Caracal’s long, pointed, dark-backed (with white sprinkling), black-
tufted ear tips are diagnostic.
Size Shoulder height 40–45 cm.
Weight 7–19 kg.
Habitat and Behaviour This species occurs widely, although patchily,
throughout the region in a variety of habitats, but avoids true desert.
Caracals are mainly nocturnal, but in areas where they are not hunted
or disturbed they also hunt in the cooler daylight hours. In areas
where diurnal hyraxes form a large part of their prey, Caracals are
forced to hunt during the day. They prey on mainly small to medium-
sized mammals weighing up to approximately 40 kg, but also take
birds and more rarely reptiles. They are heavily persecuted in areas
where they prey on domestic sheep and goats. Normal litter size
consists of 1–3 kittens, each weighing about 250 g, and dropped after
an average 79-day gestation.
Distribution and Status Caracals occur across the whole of the
northern Sahara, the Sahel to the south and extending to the Atlantic
Ocean and Mediterranean and Red Sea coastlines, with populations
associated with the main Saharan massifs. They are found in the
mountain and hill ranges of Arabia, as well as in some parts on to the
coastal plain. They are present in Israel and Palestine, Jordan and Iraq,