The caracal, also commonly known as the African Lynx (despite it not being a Lynx at all!), is a unique and distinctive animal that is not admired enough…..a caracal has the strength to outrun an ostrich, overpower it and kill it! Such an animal should not be overlooked and due to their solitary lifestyle, catching a glimpse of a caracal is precious and should be on your “to see” list when going on safari!
Through my experience now at Tshukudu Game Reserve, it is a current theme that clients have little knowledge and understanding about how special caracals are. So I am going to share with you what I share with my clients….
Scan your eyes across the vast long grass across the African planes and you may catch a glimpse of some very distinctive black ear tufts creeping above the grass tips. This will be the caracal slinking through the grass on a hunt….. Despite caracals being known as nocturnal hunters, you do see them early morning or late afternoon, if you’re lucky enough and I have had the pleasure to see them both morning and night with my clients.
Their appearance is Egyptian-like, with their pointed ear tufts, three foot long body, foot long tail, reddish brown/golden fur and black lines running from each eye to their nose. Interestingly, they hold religious belief, found on ancient Egyptian wall paintings and sculptures that guarded ancient tombs.
Caracal’s hunting style is very distinctive where they use both paws independently of each other, catching multiple prey at once, such as catching multiple birds from the air. Typically, they have 20 different muscles in their ears, which enables them to detect prey, they can then stalk the prey within about 5m, and close the catch with a sprint finish – just like Usain Bolt sprinting for the finish line! Once the prey is captured, the caracal will go for its neck or the nape to kill the prey instantly.
This trademark ability to catch food was put to use in ancient Indian culture, where people would use tame caracals to catch food for them – the origins behind the saying “to put a cat amongst the pigeons”. The people used to make bets on how many birds the caracal could take down at one time – the highest record being 12!
In addition to hunting birds (including ostrich!), caracal also hunt rodents, antelopes, gazelles and rabbits and their extremely powerfully built hindquarters gives them the ability to leap up to 4 or 5 metres from a sitting position to catch their prey.
Their characteristics combined, therefore enables them to take down animals of a similar size to a female leopard, for example a small female kudu…don’t let their petite aesthetic deceive you…not just your average golden cat!
The caracal can live up to around 12 years in the wild, however are unfortunately an endangered species within southern Africa. Farmers will shoot the caracal due to their ability to take down their livestock, however what the farmers do not realise is, is that the caracal keep rodent numbers down, thus preventing the spread of disease.
What is fascinating here at Tshukudu, is that we have a breeding project in order to boost the wild caracal population. Caracals can produce three to four kittens, who will stay with the mother for approximately nine months, following this, we release them to venture wild and free…..
An abundance of caracals can be seen on the Tshukudu reserve and as they are known to wander, can be seen on surrounding reserves also – they have been found to wander up to 180km from their original territory.
The success of this breeding project means that this ancient, distinctive and intriguing animal will live on and can be seen on game drives…..a unique and exciting sighting for me to share with clients, as well as share their compelling story.
Carnivores and Conservation 