Caracal aurata

African Caracal (scientific name: Caracal aurata, synonymous scientific name Profelis aurata) is called African Golden Cat in foreign language. It is a medium-sized wild cat with 2 subspecies.

In Africa, African Caracal was once named African Golden Cat. They are considered "sons of leopards" or "brothers of leopards" because locals believe that African caracals are always with leopards. People regard African caracals as ferocious animals and are full of fear of them. In many areas, African caracals are totems of local tribes. In Cameroon, pygmies will bring African caracal tails when hunting elephants, believing that this will bring good luck to the hunting activities. African caracal skins are also used as valuable ritual items during tribal circumcision.

Usually African caracals are arboreal animals, but according to their shorter tails and records of being found in high mountain wilderness, this species is also a ground predator. African caracals are mainly active at dawn and dusk and at night, and will also hunt during the day. Leopards exist in many areas where African caracals are distributed, and there is some overlap in the food of leopards and African caracals. However, there is no obvious competition between the two cats. Usually, rodents and birds that African caracals are more interested in are dispensable to leopards.

African caracals are not social animals. Similar to other cats, female and male African caracals may maintain independent spaces or form families at different times, and also use scent, hanging claws and feces to transmit information. African caracals do not cover their feces, but make them easy to be found and tracked, and keep this information uninterrupted.

African caracals can make a variety of calls. In addition to the "ho-ho-ho" sound, "mi-mi" sound and roar sound that small and medium-sized cats can make, African caracals can also make purring sounds like domestic cats when they are comfortable, and sometimes "cluck" sounds when two African caracals are in close contact.

The African caracal's diet mainly includes small mammals and birds. The African caracal in the Rwenzori Mountains of Rwanda, East Africa, mainly preys on African grooved rats, marsh rats, hyraxes, and duikers. All of these prey are terrestrial animals, mainly active during the day and dawn. The African caracal's diet in other areas also mainly consists of duikers, monkeys, rodents and birds. In daily observation, African caracals obviously avoid hunting some medium-sized prey. They often raid chicken coops and sheep pens. When the opportunity comes, they will also hunt some ground-dwelling birds such as guinea fowl and quail. The feathers, claws and gizzards of an unidentified bird were found in the stomach of a male African caracal killed in Senegal. In the forests of Ituri Province in Congo, according to a survey of 60 African caracals, about 70% of their prey were rodents, with an average weight of 1.4 kg, and less than 5% of their prey were medium-sized ungulates and primates. Birds accounted for about 18% of the prey. In the Central African Republic, small duikers and rodents are the top two items in the local African caracal diet, which is related to the number of these two animals in the local area. The captured African caracals give priority to eating the birds fed to them and give birds a high hunting level.

After 75 days of pregnancy, the female African caracal living in the Congo jungle gave birth to two kittens in a tree hole. Their colors are dark gray and gray-brown. The newborn kittens weigh 180-235 grams. The kittens opened their eyes 6 days after birth, and then they began to grow rapidly. Female kittens are able to stand at 10 days old and walk at 13 days old. At 16 days old, they can already climb out of the nest and climb a stump about 40 cm high. At 19 days old, both kittens made their first attempt at jumping, the destination is a low stump next to the nest. At 40 days old, the kittens began to try to chew pieces of meat torn from mice and birds, and soon after they began to eat whole animals.

Compared with other small cats, African caracal cubs are more agile. At 12 weeks old, female cubs seem to develop faster, but male cubs have already reached 2.9 kg and females 2.5 kg. At 14 weeks old, the female cub has grown permanent teeth, but her brothers will not change their teeth until 1 month later. Female cubs begin to show signs of sexual maturity at 11 months old, while males have to wait until 18 months. However, male cubs grow faster in size, and at 6 months old they are the same size as their mothers, while female cubs are still smaller than their mothers at 11 months old. There have been records of one African caracal going into heat at 11 months old, and another male individual mating for the first time at 18 months old. In addition, the only record is that a captured female African caracal gave birth for the first time at the age of 4 years old. The longest lifespan of an African caracal in captivity is recorded as 12 years.

African caracals have a limited distribution range and are believed to have a moderate decline in numbers due to habitat loss, reduced precipitation, tourism impacts, and road development, which have caused changes in the living environment. It has been listed as a near-threatened species. The African caracal is found in protected areas in the following countries: Gola F.R. (Sierra Leone), Mount Nimba Nature Reserve (Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea), Sapo N.P. (Liberia), Taï and Comoé National Parks (Côte d'Ivoire), Gashaka Gumti National Park (Nigeria), Dja Game Reserve (Cameroon), Lopé N.P. and Ivindo N.P. (Gabon), Odzala and Nouabale-Ndoki National Parks (Republic of Congo) and Dzangha-Ndoki National Parks (CAR), Wirango National Park (Democratic Republic of Congo), Bwindi National Park (Uganda) (2013).

Listed in the 2015 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ver 3.1 - Near Threatened (NT).

Listed in the CITES Appendix II of the Washington Convention as a protected animal.

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Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda.
African caracals live in forests from central Africa to Kenya, usually close to water sources, and sometimes in grasslands and even highlands at an altitude of 3,600 meters. African caracals can adapt to any jungle environment, whether it is primary forest or secondary forest, or jungle areas with more bottom shrubs, or even forests in water networks with frequent tides. African caracals can also be found in some mountain forests, bamboo forests and some bare rock areas at altitudes of 2,000-3,000 meters. The more typical habitat is usually in dense bush areas along rivers.

The African Caracal is a strong cat, about twice the size of a domestic cat, with a body length of 61-100 cm and a weight of about 8-16 kg. Like other cats, male African Caracals are larger and heavier than females. The African Caracal should be named "Colorful Cat" because its fur color is too rich, ranging from orange-red to dark gray-black, and each color segment may be spotted or unspotted, while some places have lighter and darker spots. The similarity is that all African Caracals have white or light yellow-white jaws, chests and abdomens, and the abdomen is dotted with striking black spots. The pattern of African Caracal's fur color changes with the distribution area. The more west Africa individuals are, the more likely they are to have dense spots, while the more east Africa individuals are, the more likely they are to be solid colors.
African Caracals are divided into two subspecies (spotted and unspotted). The head is relatively round and the muzzle is short