Caracal

Not far from the baboons was another fenced area. It was the home of three caracals – one male and two females.

The caracal is an african cat that looks like the lynx, but it is closer related to the serval. It has a shoulder height of about 43 cm and a weight of maximum 14 kg for a female and 20 kg for a male. (På svenska kallas den ökenlo.)

Like the lynx it has those “antennas” on the ears. It is a very beautiful animal.

The fence is high. The caracal is a good jumper and is known to jump high to catch birds in flight. They normally live and hunt alone and are very good hunters. Their prey can be quite large animals like sheep, impala and springbok.

We were allowed to go in and the two females were quite friendly and we could pat them. We could not the see the male at first. He was probably close all the time watching us and finally revealed himself.

He came to me looking quite curious. I crouched and was rewarded by a bite. Luckily only in my shorts, but I must admit it scared me a bit…