Caracal

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This article is about the wild feline species. For other uses, see Caracal (disambiguation).

Caracal
Caracal in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[1][note 1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Caracal
Species:
C. caracal
Binomial name
Caracal caracal
(Schreber, 1776)
Subspecies

See text

Distribution of caracal, 2016[1]
Synonyms
List
    • C. bengalensis (J. B. Fischer, 1829)
    • C. melanotis Gray, 1843
    • C. melanotix Gray, 1843
    • C. berberorum Matschie, 1892
    • C. corylinus (Matschie, 1912)
    • C. medjerdae (Matschie, 1912)
    • C. aharonii (Matschie, 1912)
    • C. spatzi (Matschie, 1912)
    • C. roothi (Roberts, 1926)
    • C. coloniae Thomas, 1926
    • C. michaelis Heptner, 1945

The caracal (Caracal caracal) (

scientifically described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776. Three subspecies
are recognised.

Typically

sexually mature
by the time they are one year old and breed throughout the year. Gestation lasts between two and three months, resulting in a litter of one to six kittens. Juveniles leave their mothers at the age of nine to ten months, though a few females stay back with their mothers. The average lifespan of captive caracals is nearly 16 years.

Etymology

The name 'caracal' was proposed by Georges Buffon in 1761 who referred to its Turkish name 'Karrah-kulak' or 'Kara-coulac', meaning 'black ear'.[3][4] The 'lynx' of the Greeks and Romans was most probably the caracal, and the name 'lynx' is sometimes still applied to it, but the present-day lynx proper is a separate genus.[5]

The caracal is also known as desert lynx and Persian lynx.[6]

Local names

Its name in the Tigrinya language is ጭክ ኣንበሳ, ch’ok anbessa, which means 'bearded lion'.[7] In the

Emirati Dialect of Arabic, its name is الوشق الصحراوي (al Washq al Ṣaḥrāwī), translating directly to 'desert lynx'.[8]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Felis caracal was the

described a caracal skin from the Cape of Good Hope.[9] In 1843, John Edward Gray placed it in the genus Caracal.[10] It is placed in the family Felidae and subfamily Felinae.[2]

In the 19th and 20th centuries, several caracal specimens were described and proposed as subspecies. Since 2017, three subspecies have been recognised as valid:[11]

Phylogeny

Results of a

phylogenetic study indicates that the caracal and the African golden cat (Caracal aurata) diverged between 2.93 and 1.19 million years ago. These two species together with the serval (Leptailurus serval) form the Caracal lineage, which diverged between 11.56 and 6.66 million years ago.[14][15] The ancestor of this lineage arrived in Africa between 8.5 and 5.6 million years ago.[16]

The relationship of the caracal is considered as follows:[14][15]

Pardofelis

Marbled cat (P. marmorata)

Catopuma

Bay cat (C. badia)

Asian golden cat (C. temminckii)

 

Caracal
Leptailurus

Serval (L. serval)

Caracal

Caracal

African golden cat (C. aurata)

lineage

Characteristics

A close facial view of a caracal, with the typical tufted ears and the black facial markings

The caracal is a slender, moderately sized cat characterised by a robust build, a short face, long

sexually dimorphic; the females are smaller than the males in most bodily parameters.[19]

The prominent facial features include the 4.5-cm-long black tufts on the ears, two black stripes from the forehead to the nose, the black outline of the mouth, the distinctive black facial markings, and the white patches surrounding the eyes and the mouth. The eyes appear to be narrowly open due to the lowered upper eyelid, probably an adaptation to shield the eyes from the sun's glare. The ear tufts may start drooping as the animal ages. The coat is uniformly reddish tan or sandy, though black caracals are also known. The underbelly and the insides of the legs are lighter, often with small reddish markings.[19] The fur, soft, short, and dense, grows coarser in the summer. The ground hairs (the basal layer of hair covering the coat) are denser in winter than in summer. The length of the guard hairs (the hair extending above the ground hairs) can be up to 3 cm (1.2 in) long in winter, but shorten to 2 cm (0.8 in) in summer.[20] These features indicate the onset of moulting in the hot season, typically in October and November.[21] The hind legs are longer than the forelegs, so the body appears to be sloping downward from the rump.[18][19]

Male caracals measure in head-to-body length 78–108 cm (31–43 in) and have 21–34 cm (8.3–13.4 in) long tails; 77 male caracals ranged in weight between 7.2 and 19 kg (16 and 42 lb). The head-to-body length of females is 71–103 cm (28–41 in) with a tail of 18–31.5 cm (7.1–12.4 in); 63 females ranged in weight between 7 and 15.9 kg (15 and 35 lb).[22]

The caracal is often confused with a lynx, as both cats have tufted ears. However, a notable point of difference between the two is that Lynx species are spotted and blotched, while the caracal shows no such markings on the coat.

sympatric serval can be distinguished from the caracal by the former's lack of ear tufts, white spots behind the ears, spotted coat, longer legs, longer tail, and smaller footprints.[20][23]

The skull of the caracal is high and rounded, featuring large

deciduous dentition is 3.1.23.1.2. The canines are up to 2 cm (0.8 in) long and sharp. The caracal lacks the second upper premolars, and the upper molars are diminutive.[21] The large paws have four digits in the hind legs and five in the fore legs.[24][20] The first digit of the fore leg remains above the ground and features the dewclaw. The sharp and retractile claws are larger but less curved in the hind legs.[20]

Distribution and habitat

Caracals inhabit dry areas with some cover.

In Africa, the caracal is widely distributed south of the

scrub forests, but prefers dry areas with low rainfall and availability of cover. In montane habitats such as in the Ethiopian Highlands, it occurs up to an elevation of 3,000 m (9,800 ft).[20]

In

Degua Tembien massif, they can be seen along roads, sometimes as roadkills.[7]

In the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, a male caracal was photographed by camera traps in Jebel Hafeet National Park in Al Ain Region, in spring 2019, the first such record since the mid-1980s.[25]

In south-western Turkey, caracals are present in a wildlife reserve in the provinces of Antalya and Muğla that is regularly used for recreational and agricultural activities.[26] However, they avoid humans and are active mostly at night.[27] In Uzbekistan, caracals were recorded only in the desert regions of the Ustyurt Plateau and Kyzylkum Desert. Between 2000 and 2017, 15 individuals were sighted alive, and at least 11 were killed by herders.[28]

In Iran, the caracal has been recorded in Abbasabad Naein Reserve, Bahram’gur Protected Area,

Yazd Province.[29][30][31][32][33]

In India, the caracal occurs in

Ranthambhore National Park.[34][35][36]

Ecology and behaviour

Caracals are efficient climbers.

The caracal is typically

marks rocks and vegetation in its territory with urine and probably with dung, which is not covered with soil. Claw scratching is prominent, and dung middens are typically not formed.[20] In Israel, males are found to have territories averaging 220 km2 (85 sq mi), while that of females averaged 57 km2 (22 sq mi). The male territories vary from 270–1,116 km2 (104–431 sq mi) in Saudi Arabia. In Mountain Zebra National Park, the home ranges of females vary between 4.0 and 6.5 km2 (1.5 and 2.5 sq mi). These territories overlap extensively.[19] The conspicuous ear tufts and the facial markings often serve as a method of visual communication; caracals have been observed interacting with each other by moving the head from side to side so that the tufts flicker rapidly. Like other cats, the caracal meows, growls, hisses, spits, and purrs.[18]

Diet and hunting

A caracal hunting in the Serengeti

A carnivore, the caracal typically preys upon small mammals and birds. In South Africa, it preys on the Cape grysbok, common duiker, bush vlei rats, rock hyrax and Cape hare.[38][39][40] Mammals generally comprise at least 80% of its diet, and it may also target larger antelopes such as young kudu, impala, Cape bushbuck, mountain reedbuck and springbok.[20] The remaining percentage is made up of lizards, snakes and insects.[1] Rodents comprise a significant portion of its diet in western India.[34] It feeds on a variety of sources, but tend to focus on the most abundant one.[41] In South Africa, caracals have been documented preying on small livestock in areas where sheep and goat are farmed. Livestock is however only a small and seasonal portion of their diet when wild prey is scarce.[38][22] Occasionally, it consumes grasses and grapes, which help to clear the immune system and stomach of any parasites.[42]

The caracals's speed and agility make it an efficient hunter, able to take down prey two to three times its size.

scavenge at times, though this has not been frequently observed.[38]

Reproduction

Caracal mother and kitten

Both sexes become

sexually mature by the time they are a year old; production of gametes begins even earlier at seven to ten months. However, successful mating takes place only at 12 to 15 months. Breeding takes place throughout the year. Oestrus, one to three days long, recurs every two weeks unless the female is pregnant. Females in oestrus show a spike in urine-marking, and form temporary pairs with males. Mating has not been extensively studied; a limited number of observations suggest that copulation, lasting nearly four minutes on an average, begins with the male smelling the areas urine-marked by the female, which then rolls on the ground. Following this, the male approaches and mounts the female. The pair separate after copulation.[19][20]

permanent dentition is completed in 10 months. Juveniles begin dispersing at nine to ten months, though a few females stay back with their mothers. The average lifespan of the caracal in captivity is nearly 16 years.[19][24][45]

In the 1990s, a captive caracal spontaneously mated with a domestic

felid hybrid offspring.[46]

Threats

The caracal is listed as

pet trade on the Arabian Peninsula. In Turkey and Iran, caracals are frequently killed in road accidents.[1]
In Uzbekistan, the major threat to caracal is killing by herders in retaliation for livestock losses. Guarding techniques and sheds are inadequate to protect small livestock like goats and sheep from being attacked by predators. Additionally, similarly to Ethiopia, heavy-traffic roads crossing caracal habitat pose a potential threat for the species.[28]

Conservation

A caracal in the San Diego Zoo

African caracal populations are listed under

CITES Appendix I. Hunting of caracal is prohibited in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Caracals occur in a number of protected areas across their range.[1]

In South Africa, the caracal is considered Least Concern, as it is widespread and adaptable to a variety of habitats. It is tolerant to human-dominated areas, although it has been persecuted for many decades. Farmers are encouraged to report sightings of caracals, both dead and alive, and livestock killed by caracals to the national Predation Management Information Centre.[47]

The Central Asian caracal population is listed as Critically Endangered in Uzbekistan since 2009, and in Kazakhstan since 2010.[28][48][49]

In culture

A cheetah and a caracal kept for coursing by Rajasthani royalty, c. 1890[50]

The caracal appears to have been religiously significant in the ancient Egyptian culture, as it occurs in paintings and as bronze figurines; sculptures are thought to have guarded the tombs of pharaohs.[51] Embalmed caracals have also been discovered.[52]

The caracal was esteemed for its ability to catch birds in flight and was used for

pelt was used for making fur coats.[24]

Caracals were captured, bred, and tamed in

British East India Company, was gifted a caracal by Mughal General Diler Khan as part of a trade for a pair of English-bred greyhounds. Aungier was well-aware of the wild caracal's sensitive nature and sudden disappearance, thus he immediately arranged to have the animal transported back to England for better veterinary care and study.[citation needed
]

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Notes

  1. ^ Only populations of Asia. All other populations are included in Appendix II.

External links

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