Nature Trails with Adventurekim.com: The Awesome Caracal Nikon Coolpix L820

another childhood favorite is the Caracal or Lynx. My father was the game warden at the Mt Sheba Nature Reserve and the face of a Caracal was the reserves emblem. and so started my love affair with this amazing cat!!

Size: about 0.45m (shoulder height) Weight 8-13 kg female/ 12-19 kg male Lifespan: about 10 yrs
Habitat & Distribution: Open areas, especially arid bush. Uses plains, vleis, rocky areas, mountains and mixed woodland. Must have woody cover for hunting or danger evasion. Endangered in the northern reaches of their distribution which extends throughout Africa and Asia. Home ranges sometimes can extend up to 50 km squared.

Gestation is 78 days and they can have 2 to 3 altricial young (some litters of 4)
Prey: is mostly Dassies (53%), antelope (gray rhebok up to 2x its weight!), hares, rabbits, rodents,birds, monkeys, reptiles (1%) and small carnivores and it will flush sandgrouse from waterholes.
Predators: larger carnivores, pythons and birds of prey which can take their young.

Cats use their ears to demonstrate their mood and Caracals are no different. Their ears as well as the striking black and white facial markings which are even present at birth, are used to emphasise their expressions!

being territorial by nature Caracals prefer to live alone. Their markings come in handy though, when they have to interact with an intruder and their ears are then used as a signalling system, the black tufts perfectly highlighting their position.

Caracols in visual display will actually face each other and move their heads from side to side flicking their ears to show hostility towards each other. by warding off potential contestants without actually engaging in combat reduces the risk of personal injury. Now that is one clever cat!!

The black ears are also used as a "follow me" sign to the young Caracals following behind the adult in the long grass. The black stands out against the beige and tawny grasses from behind while from the front the tawny cat remains camouflaged ingenious!!.

Caracals have a reputation worldwide for their speed and agility in executing aerial bird kills. They will ambush sandgrouse and doves at waterholes and will often secure two birds from a two-pawed swat in just one huge leap.

An ancient Middle Eastern sport even used tamed caracals to act out this skill and the expression "to put a cat among the pigeons" actually originated from this very sport.

Caracals actually prefer to hunt by night which ensures the best cover however a degree of skills do take place during the day on a cool or cloudy days. Its giveaway black ears are tucked back when the cat stalks, presenting only the sandy fur along the leading edge in the direction of the victim. While hunting it is important that they are not spotted too early as the success of the hunt depends on its ability to unexpectedly pounce or it blinding dash over the last few metres towards its prey.

The killing blow is in the form of a bite to the neck or throat. Birds are actually eaten entirely apart from a few feathers, that is!! Other carcasses are eaten from the rump without the innards removed. Clumps of fur are plucked around the feeding site and the meat is nearly sheared away from the skin.

Caracals are formidable predators and they can even take down prey the size of leopards, female kudu, adult springbok and grey rhebok ( a species twice their own weight!!)

They are fantastic jumpers and can easily jump 4 to 5 metres into the air from a sitting position. This can be accomplished because of the power of their huge hindquarters. The characteristic short stubby tail works to steady them durig these spectacular acrobatic leaps.

They have large paws which have heavily built retractable claws that make no sound as the caracal moves. The dew claws are very useful too. they are found higher up the wrist and do not imprint in the spoor. They are used as a securing apparatus particularly in climbing trees or when pulling down prey. During fighting they can be used on an opponent when posturing proves inadequate.

Caracals are excellent climbers and like leopards they also use trees to cache prey or to ambush sleeping birds of prey. Tawny eagles are on their menus!! They will also use their climbing and leaping ability to successfully when hunting dassies in thier rock-dwellings.

Caracals respond to danger by fast movements into hiding spaces

The caracal kittens have their characteric pronounced facial features from birth. They also possess their rather pronounced vocabulary by communicating initially with high-pitched sounds, a twitter which soon develops into full-blown feline purrs, hisses, growls and even spits. Hunting instincts are also present from early on. Caracals youngsters, like many other mammals will use the time while parents are away hunting or guarding territories to play and stalk things like lizards and insects. This ensures that they hone their muscles and start practising their skills that they will need later on in their life to survive.

juveniles stay with their mother until they are about 10 months old when they disperse into a solitary existence of their own some 180 km way from their natal turf.

Caracals are notorious stock thieves and this has naturally caused many issues and financial losses for farmers annually. On the positive side they do offer farmers their own pest control service. Rodents are a favorite food as well as dassies. Caracals have been known to eat the odd jackal cub.

Caracals do more than assist the farmers by their choice of prey, they also play a vital role in keeping ecosystems balanced and wildlife populations in check.