---
title: "Caracal"
description: "Caracal caracal — Mammals. The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/caracal
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Caracal

> Caracal caracal — Mammals. The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India.

- Scientific name: *Caracal caracal*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `savanna` (Savanna), `desert` (Desert)
- iNaturalist observations: 2350
- Wikidata: [Q30847](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30847)
- iNaturalist taxon: [42042](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42042)

## Names

- en: Caracal
- de: Wüstenluchs
- es: Caracal
- fr: Caracal
- nl: Caracal
- pt: Caracal
- pl: Karakal stepowy

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (1203), TZ (69), KE (61), NA (40), BJ (33), BW (23), NE (22), IL (10), ZW (10), BF (7), ET (4), DJ (3)

## Summary

The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, relatively short tail, and long canine teeth. Its coat is uniformly reddish tan or sandy, while the ventral parts are lighter with small reddish markings. It reaches 40–50 cm (16–20 in) at the shoulder and weighs 8–19 kg (18–42 lb). It was first scientifically described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776. Three subspecies are recognised.
Typically nocturnal, the…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracal

## Photo

![Caracal](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/caracal/medium.jpg)

Photo: Klaus Wehrlin · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/241267675

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/caracal?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).