Female caracal

The caracal is primarily active at night, but also appears during the day in winter and spring. Its refuges include rock crevices and the burrows of porcupines and foxes; these are sometimes used for several years in a row. Males occupy large territories, while females' smaller territories are located on the outskirts.

Although the caracal has long legs, it cannot run for long periods, like all cats, so it hunts by stalking its prey and catching it with long (up to 4.5 m) leaps. With its exceptionally quick reactions and extremely sharp retractable claws, the caracal is capable of snatching several birds from a flying flock. However, its main food consists of rodents (gerbils, jerboas, and ground squirrels), tolai hares, and occasionally small antelopes, including goitered gazelles in Turkmenistan. It also occasionally takes hedgehogs, porcupines, reptiles, insects, small predators such as foxes and mongooses, and young ostriches. It can also steal poultry and attack lambs and goats. The caracal can go for long periods without drinking, obtaining fluid from its prey.

Like the leopard, the caracal drags its kill into trees to hide it from other predators.

The caracal (Latin: Caracal caracal) is a carnivorous mammal of the feline family, known as the steppe or desert lynx due to its resemblance in appearance and its Turkic name, meaning "black ear" (for the distinctive tufts on its ears). These graceful cats are distinguished by their long, strong hind limbs, enabling them to leap high, and their thick, short fur, colored sandy or reddish-brown. Appearance: The caracal has a slender body, an elongated head, and large ears with long (up to 5 cm) black tufts at the tips, which give the animal its name. Color: The coat is short and dense, ranging in shades of sandy, golden-reddish, or reddish-brown. The muzzle has distinctive black markings, and the undersides of the ears are also black. Dimensions: The weight of an adult is 13-20 kg, the body length is 65-80 cm, and the height at the withers is up to 50 cm.