Caracal

caracal (kăr`əkəl) or Persian lynx, mammal of the family Felidae (cat family), native to Asia and Africa. It is reddish brown with black-tufted ears. Its total length is about 3 1-4 ft (105 cm). It preys on small deer, hares, birds, and other animals. Active mainly at twilight, it will hunt during the night in hot weather. In some regions it is trained to catch such game for humans. Caracals are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae.

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caracal

Short-tailed cat (Caracal caracal) found in hills, deserts, and plains of Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South Asia. It is sleek and short-haired, with a reddish brown coat and long tufts of black hairs on its pointed ears. Long-legged and short-tailed, it stands 16–18 in. (40–45 cm) tall and is 26–30 in. (66–76 cm) long, excluding its tail. Generally solitary and nocturnal, it preys on birds and mammals, including peafowl, gazelles, and hares. In Asia, where it has become rare, it has been trained as a hunting animal.

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caracal

1. a lynxlike feline mammal, Lynx caracal, inhabiting deserts of N Africa and S Asia, having long legs, a smooth coat of reddish fur, and black-tufted ears.

2. the fur of this animal

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Caracal 

a city in Rumania, in Oltenia district. Population, 24, 300 (1970). Railroad junction. The major industry is food-processing, chiefly fruit and vegetable canning.

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Caracal 

(Felis caracal), a predatory mammal of the Felidae (cat) family. The body length reaches 85 cm, and the tail is about 25 cm; height at the shoulder is about 45 cm.

The caracal has tufts of hair on the tips of its ears and short fur that is sandy yellow on top and whitish underneath; the tufts and outer sides of the ears are black. It resembles the lynx in appearance. Caracals are distributed in the deserts and piedmonts of Africa and Asia. They are not common in the USSR, where they are found only in southern Turkmenia and occasionally in Uzbekistan. They feed on small mammals, such as pikas, susliks, jerboas, and rabbits, and birds; occasionally they will attack Persian gazelles. The caracal is a protected species in the USSR.

REFERENCE

Mlekopitaiushchie Sovetskogo Soiuza, vol. 2, part 2. Moscow, 1972.