Caracal カラカル

The caracal is a medium-sized wild cat found from Africa through the Middle East and central Asia to northwestern India. Its name comes from the Turkish for “black ear”, and the black tufts on the tips of its long ears are its trademark. It is known for leaping at birds as they take off. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) globally, but numbers have fallen in parts of North Africa and Asia.

It has a head-and-body length of 80–100 cm and weighs about 6–18 kg, large among Africa's small cats. The fur is short and tawny to reddish-brown without markings. The face has black lines and white patches. The triangular ears are black on the back and tipped with black tufts 4–5 cm long. It has long legs, a muscular build and a fairly short tail.

It lives alone and is mainly nocturnal, though it may be active by day depending on habitat and temperature. It feeds mainly on small to medium-sized mammals and birds and in some areas takes livestock. It stalks birds and can leap more than 2 m into the air to catch them as they take off. Gestation lasts about 78–81 days, and litters are of 1–6 kittens (usually 2–4).

It is found across much of Africa and, via the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East and Turkey, as far as Turkmenistan and northwestern India. The 2017 classification recognizes three subspecies—C. c. caracal in southern and eastern Africa, C. c. nubicus in northern and western Africa, and C. c. schmitzi from the Middle East to India—though these await confirmation by genetic studies.

It lives mainly in dry habitats such as semi-desert, steppe, savanna, scrub and dry woodland, and avoids true desert and rainforest.

No recognized breed is known to be based on the caracal. Hybrids between caracals and house cats, and between caracals and servals, have been recorded in zoos and elsewhere. In India, rulers are said to have once used caracals to hunt birds and other game.

In the IUCN Red List assessment published in 2016, it is listed as Least Concern (LC), but population trends are unknown across much of its range. It is considered threatened in North Africa, and in India, where its range is limited, it has been reported that only about 50 may remain (2023). Under CITES, Asian populations are listed in Appendix I and all others in Appendix II. The main threats are habitat destruction, persecution over livestock losses and trade for pets.

It was described in 1776 by the German naturalist Schreber. The name caracal was used in 1761 by the French naturalist Buffon, based on the Turkish karakulak (“black ear”). It was once placed in the genera Lynx or Felis, but following genetic studies such as one in 2006, it is now classified in the genus Caracal together with the African golden cat.