This is not to say that caracal - a desert lynx - is a particularly famous animal. Rather, on the contrary, only people who are interested in exotic pets, cats, or zoology in general know about it. But this is a very interesting animal. So it will be very interesting to talk about him.
Appearance
Outwardly, the animal caracal looks great like a lynx. But at the same time its dimensions are much smaller, the color is monophonic, and in general the physique is more elegant, slender. The body reaches a length of 65-80 centimeters, and the tail - up to 30 centimeters. At the withers, large individuals can have a height of up to 45 centimeters with a mass of 15-20 kilograms.
The ears are so long that on young individuals seem disproportionately huge. They have a long brush at the ends - up to 5 centimeters. The paws are covered with a brush - tough, short hair greatly facilitates running on cold and hot sand.
In general, the fur is thick and short. On the one hand, this avoids problems with sand clogging in the skin. On the other hand, it perfectly protects not only from the wind, but also from the high temperature that is often observed in the steppe and desert. The color of the fur is monophonic - reddish-brown or sandy above, and the bottom - white. Black marks are visible on the face. Ears (outside) and tassels are also black. In addition, in the wild, you can see caracal melanists - they are black in color, but are extremely rare.
Habitat
Now let's talk briefly about the habitat of the caracal.
They can be seen in the savannahs, steppes, deserts, and even foothills. Distributed in Africa, Central and Asia Minor, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. But in the CIS, it is almost never found. Quite rarely, it lives in deserts located in the south of Turkmenistan. From here, he sometimes reaches the Mangyshlak peninsula, passing along the coast of the Caspian Sea. In addition, there were reports of a meeting with him in Uzbekistan (near Bukhara) and Kyrgyzstan.
Caracal lives in Russia - on the territory of Dagestan. True, their number is small, according to experts no more than a hundred individuals.
In general, there are about ten species and subspecies of caracals - they differ relatively relatively little and inhabit, as a rule, specific regions, rarely intersecting.
origin of name
Now that the reader knows about the appearance of the caracal and the place where it lives, he may be interested in where did such a strange name come from. In fact, everything is simple here.
The name came to the Russian language from the Turkic languages - Turkish, Kyrgyz, Kazakh. Now it is difficult to say exactly which people gave the familiar name to this beast. Indeed, from all of the above languages, “karakulak” is translated as “black-eared” or “black ear” - as mentioned above, the outer side of the ears of a sandy beast has exactly black color. Apparently, Russian settlers or soldiers simply simplified it to a more easily pronounced caracal.
Moreover, this word has taken root not only in the Russian language, but also in almost all European languages. After all, even in Latin, the beast is called only caracal.
Lifestyle
Now we will tell how the steppe lynx lives. Desert lynx is usually most active at night. Which is not surprising - on hot summer days, when you can fry eggs on hot sand, it is better to take refuge in a suitable shelter than to endure the heat and lose excess moisture, which is already lacking in the desert. The only exception is winter and spring. At this time of the year even at noon it’s not too hot, so caracals can go hunting. At night, they hide in suitable shelters. Sometimes these are crevices between rocks, and sometimes burrows of foxes and porcupines. Very often, finding a cozy abandoned hole (or driving its inhabitants away), the caracal settles in it for several years.
Males usually control large areas, and females are forced to be content with less modest ones.
It feeds, like all cats, on meat. And here is not too picky.
It boasts a very good hearing - about twenty muscles regulate the position of the ears, and sensitive hairs allow you to accurately determine the direction from which a barely noticeable rustle is heard. Unlike most feline caracals, it also has good vision - inhabiting deserts and steppes, where there are no dense shrubs and grasses, he developed the ability to see at a great distance. Well, you can’t even talk about vision in the dark - almost all representatives of this graceful family possess it.
The hind legs of the caracal are very long and powerful. But still he cannot run for a long time. Like the vast majority of cats, it is focused on ambush hunting. And it works strictly alone. Therefore, high intelligence can not boast. But, having noticed the prey and imperceptibly sneaking up to it, it shows miracles of dexterity and speed.
Not surprisingly, a cat either grabs its prey in a few jumps (and each can reach a length of 4-4.5 meters!), Or refuses to pursue. An excellent reaction and sharp long fangs allow you to grab several victims from a flock of flying birds. In some cases, it is openly parasitic in humans, abducting birds, goats and lambs.
An interesting feature - caracal can not drink for a long time. The fluid obtained from the blood and flesh of the victims is enough for him.
Like the leopard, the caracal prefers to hide the uneaten remains of prey on the trees - here most other predators will not be able to reach it.
Here is a lifestyle caracal leads with slight amendments to the living conditions in specific conditions.
What eats
As mentioned above, caracal is not too picky in food. He is ready to eat almost any prey that he can catch and fill up
Therefore, quite often his diet consists of various rodents - gophers, jerboas and gerbils. In some cases, Tolai hare may become a victim. And if you're lucky, then the caracal could very well cope with small antelopes or gazelles that fought off the herd.
However, the diet often includes more exotic prey. For example, caracals do not disdain hedgehogs, reptiles. With a long absence of prey, they can feast on insects. In regions where such prey lives, it can rush to a mongoose or a young ostrich.
But caracals do not feed on carrion - a too pungent smell emanating from rotten meat infiltrates the dense skin of a predator and may well play a bad joke during an ambush hunt. Although, if you get fresh remains from the recent food of another predator, the caracal will not show excessive disgust.
Breeding
Unlike many other animals, caracals breed all year round. Moreover, at the same time, the female ode can have two or three partners. Pregnancy lasts about 80 days - plus or minus two days. Most often, one to six kittens are in the litter. The first month they spend in the same den where they were born. Then the female begins to transfer them from one den to another.
They become adults in about six months - at this age, young caracals leave their mother to find a suitable habitat for themselves, and also conquer quite rich prey lands. They will become sexually mature at the age of one and a half years.
Is it possible to keep at home?
Having read about the desert lynx - caracal - many people seriously think - is it possible to have such an unusual pet at home? As it turns out, it’s entirely possible!
Young caracal not only perfectly adapts to life in private houses and apartments, but also over time becomes a very affectionate and cheerful pet.
Character
In fact, domesticated caracal is no different from an ordinary cat. Well, except that it weighs 15-20 kilograms. But their character is very similar. In many ways, it depends on the habits of the owners and the relationship on their part. With abundant feeding, proper care and gentle handling, the caracal becomes a very friendly, loyal and calm pet.
As a rule, people who accuse them of cruelty and indulgence are themselves to blame - they frighten away the beast with shouts, threats, beatings or make other serious mistakes.
If everything is done correctly, then the caracal will become a curious and playful favorite, it will be happy to play with domestic cats and dogs, not to mention children. True, one still needs to be careful here - this is a serious predator with sharp claws and long fangs. Playing a beast or angry beast may well inadvertently hurt people or other animals. However, like any cat, only taking into account the difference in size.
Well, of course, you need to immediately outline the boundaries of what is permitted. Feed in a specific place, do not allow the owner to play with things, do not let the kitten sleep in bed. Hardly anyone would want in six months or a year to share a bed with a twenty-kilogram cat.
Proper diet
A very important aspect in the maintenance of an unusual pet is the diet of caracal. Fortunately, too complex and exotic products are not required here.
Domesticated caracal with pleasure eats almost any meat products. For example, he does not refuse rabbits, gophers and other rodents. With pleasure he eats beef and chicken, including boiled. It will be useful to introduce fish into the diet - you can give sea fish raw, but you need to cook freshwater to guarantee the destruction of the parasite eggs.
Also do not forget to give your pet minerals and vitamins. You can dissolve them in water or just mix with meat.
But it is undesirable to feed pork caracal. Fatty meat can lead to serious obesity - the animal does not move much and can acquire health problems over time.
Human use
However, caracals are used not only as pets.
In some Asian countries, for example, in Persia and India, desert lynx was used as hunting animals, going on pheasant, hares, peacocks and small antelopes. Moreover, mainly poor people kept them - the wealthy preferred cheetahs.
And in South America, caracals are kept at some military airfields. Wild birds, resting in large flocks on the runways, cause serious problems for personnel. And predators are happy to hunt them, forcing them to stay away from the wrong place.
Conclusion
On this our article comes to an end. Now you know the description of the desert lynx, its habits, ways to tame and much more. It is possible that after reading some readers there will be a desire to have this cute twenty-kilogram cat, which will certainly become the favorite of all friends.