Rare Caracal Cats

Rare Caracal Cats AG WORLD Ag World 21-1-20 If you like cats, you'll love Caracals, say Donald and Joan Howard of Salem, Ore., who are two of a handful of people in the U.S. and Canada that own the rare animals. There are only about 10 breeders of Caracals in the U.S. Also known as the African lynx or desert lynx, the Caracal looks somewhat like a miniature cougar but has tufted ears. It's about 2 1/2 ft. long with a 10-in. tail, stands up to 18 in. high at the shoulder, and weighs 25 to 40 lbs. The coat is short-haired and thick and colored red-dish fawn to blackish, with faint spots on the legs and lighter underparts. The ears are blackish and the ear tufts are black, while the face has white markings and a black stripe between the eye and nose and a black spot on the side of the muzzle. The Caracal is native to the semi-desert of Africa, Arabia, Afghanistan, and India. It likes open, mountainous or sparsely-brushed country but keeps away from forests. "They're very pretty and also very affectionate," says Donald. "We got our male and female from the Salt Lake City zoo and we had kittens last fall. Caracals have been handled by people for centuries and were even used in Pharoah's time to hunt game animals and birds. They're very fast - second only to the cheetah. "Caracals adapt easily to living with a family and will seek people out, following them from room to room. They're relatively safe for people who are used to handling them, but they may not be the safest animal for people they don't know. You can't bring them in your house and leave them or they'll tear things up. We keep our animals in a separate house outside and have a running area for them. They don't require a lot of space. "We feed our animals canned and dry food. They require more calcium and protein and a different blend of vitamins and minerals than is found in domestic cat food. "Caracals usually hunt at night but will occasionally hunt during the day if it's cloudy and cool. They're the most powerful of the smaller cats of Africa and can kill an animal twice its size. In the wild they prey on small antelopes, monkeys, hares, rodents, lizards and birds. They can jump 10 to 12 ft. high from a standing position and strike so swiftly they can kill several birds before the flock gets off the ground, then leap into the air and grab still another. They have an unusual hunting habit where they go behind a log and chirp like a bird. The bird sees only the tufted ears sticking up above the log and is drawn by the chirping to them." Weaned kitens sell for $1,500 to $2,000. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dr. Donald & Joan Howard, 5700 Gaffin Rd. S.E., Salem, Ore. 97301 (ph 503 585-6701).

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