Caracal (desert lynx, steppe lynx): appearance, habitat, lifestyle and nutrition

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

It cannot be said that the caracal - the 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 tell about it.

Appearance

Outwardly, the caracal animal looks great like a lynx. But at the same time, its size is 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 they look disproportionately huge on young specimens. They have a long brush at the ends - up to 5 centimeters. The paws are covered with a brush - stiff, short hair makes it much easier to run on cold and hot sand.

In general, the fur is thick and short. On the one hand, this avoids problems with sand getting into the skin. On the other hand, it perfectly protects not only from the wind, but also from hightemperature, which is often observed in the steppe and desert. The color of the fur is solid - reddish-brown or sandy on top, and white on the bottom. There are black markings on the muzzle. Also black are the ears (outside) and tassels. In addition, melanistic caracals can be seen in the wild - 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 savannas, steppes, deserts and even foothills. Distributed in Africa, Central and Asia Minor, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. But on the territory of the CIS, it is almost never found. Quite rarely, it lives in the deserts located in the south of Turkmenistan. From here it sometimes reaches the Mangyshlak peninsula, passing along the coast of the Caspian Sea. In addition, there were reports of meetings with him in Uzbekistan (near Bukhara) and Kyrgyzstan.

The caracal also 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 little from each other and, as a rule, inhabit specific regions, rarely intersecting with each other.

Origin of the name

Now that the reader knows about the appearance of the caracal and the place where he lives, he may be interested in where such a strange name came from. In fact, everything is simple here.

The name came to the Russian language from the Turkic languages - Turkish, Kyrgyz, Kazakh. Nowit is already difficult to say exactly which people gave the usual 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 the sand beast has exactly black color. Apparently, Russian settlers or soldiers simply simplified it to a more easily pronounceable caracal.

Moreover, this word has taken root not only in Russian, but also in almost all European ones. After all, even in Latin the beast is called caracal.

Lifestyle

Now we will tell you how the steppe lynx lives. The 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 is not too hot, so caracals can go hunting. At night, they hide in suitable shelters. Sometimes these are crevices between rocks, and sometimes they are 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 territories, while females are forced to settle for less modest ones.

Eats, like all cats, meat. And not too picky here.

It can boast of very good hearing - about twenty muscles regulate the position of the ears, and sensitive hairsallow you to determine as accurately as possible the direction from which a barely noticeable rustle is heard. Unlike most cats, the caracal also has good eyesight - living in deserts and steppes, where there are no dense shrubs and grasses, it has 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 have it.

The caracal's hind legs are very long and powerful. But still, he cannot run for a long time. Like the vast majority of cats, it is ambush oriented. And he works strictly alone. Therefore, it cannot boast of high intelligence. But, having noticed the prey and quietly sneaking up to it, it demonstrates miracles of agility and speed.

No wonder - a cat either grabs 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 make it possible to grab several victims from a flock of flying birds. In some cases, it openly parasitizes people, stealing birds, goats and lambs.

An interesting feature is that the caracal can go without drinking for a long time. The liquid obtained from the blood and flesh of the victims is enough for him.

Like the leopard, the caracal prefers to hide half-eaten remains of prey in the trees - here most other predators will not be able to reach it.

This is the way of life the caracal leads with slight adjustments for living conditions in specific conditions.

What eats

As already mentionedabove, the caracal is not too picky about food. He is ready to eat almost any prey that he can catch and fill up

Therefore, quite often its diet consists of various rodents - ground squirrels, jerboas and gerbils. In some cases, tolai hares can become prey. And if you're lucky, the caracal may well cope with small antelopes or gazelles that have strayed from 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 may well 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 - too pungent smell emanating from rotten meat impregnates the dense skin of a predator and may well play a bad joke during an ambush hunt. Although, if fresh remains from the recent food of another predator come across, the caracal will not show excessive disgust.

Reproduction

Unlike many other animals, caracals breed all year round. Moreover, at the same time, one female can have two or three partners. Pregnancy lasts about 80 days - plus or minus two days. Most often, there are from one to six kittens in the litter. They spend the first month in the same den where they were born. Then the female begins to transfer them from one lair to another.

They become adults at about six months - at this age, young caracals leave their mother to find a suitable habitat for themselves, as well asconquer for themselves enough lands rich in prey. They will become sexually mature at about the age of one and a half years.

Can I keep at home?

After reading about the desert lynx - caracal - many people seriously think - is it possible to get such an unusual pet at home? As it turns out, it is quite possible!

A young caracal not only perfectly adapts to life in private houses and apartments, but also becomes a very affectionate and cheerful pet over time.

Character

In fact, a 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 attitude 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 unsociableness are themselves to blame - they scare away the beast with screams, threats, beatings, or make other serious mistakes.

If everything is done correctly, then the caracal will become a curious and playful pet, it will be happy to play with domestic cats and dogs, not to mention children. True, here you still need to be careful - this is a serious predator with sharp claws and long fangs. An overbearing or angry animal may well inadvertently hurt people or other animals. However, like any cat, only taking into account the difference in size.

And, of course, you need to immediately outline the boundaries of what is permitted. feed ina certain place, do not let them play with the things of the owners, do not let the kitten sleep in bed. Hardly anyone wants to share a bed with a twenty-kilogram cat in six months or a year.

Proper diet

A very important aspect in keeping an unusual pet is the food of the caracal. Fortunately, too complex and exotic products are not required here.

The domesticated caracal eats almost any meat product with pleasure. For example, he does not refuse rabbits, ground squirrels and other rodents. He enjoys eating beef and chicken, including boiled. It would be useful to introduce fish into the diet - sea fish can be given raw, but freshwater must be boiled in order to guarantee the destruction of parasite eggs.

Also do not forget to give your pet minerals and vitamins. You can dissolve them in water or simply mix them with meat.

But it is undesirable to feed the caracal with pork. Fatty meat can lead to serious obesity - the animal does not move much and over time can acquire he alth problems.

Human use

However, caracals are used not only as pets.

In some countries of Asia, for example, in Persia and India, the desert lynx was used as a hunting animal, going to the pheasant, hares, peacocks and small antelopes. Moreover, they were mostly kept by poor people - the we althy preferred cheetahs.

And in South America, caracals are kept at some military airfields. wild birds,resting on the runways in large flocks, cause serious problems for the personnel. And predators are happy to hunt them, forcing them to stay away from the wrong place.

Conclusion

This concludes our article. Now you know the description of the desert lynx, its habits, ways to tame it and much more. It is possible that after reading, some readers will have a desire to get this cute twenty-kilogram cat, which will definitely become the favorite of everyone you know.