Caracal at SanWild Wildlife Sanctuary
Author Louise Joubert https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Louise_Joubert
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SanWild07a.jpg

The caracal or desert lynx (Caracal caracal) is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and India. Its natural habitat includes semi-deserts, open savannas, shrublands, moist woodlands and montane forests. The caracal is placed in the family Felidae and subfamily Felinae. The species was first described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber as Felis caracal in the journal Die Säugetiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen in 1776. In 1843, British zoologist John Edward Gray placed the animal in the genus Caracal.
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Caracal
Species:
Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776)
Synonyms:
Caracal aharonii (Matschie, 1912)
Caracal bengalensis (J. B. Fischer, 1829)
Caracal berberorum Matschie, 1892
Caracal coloniae Thomas, 1926
Caracal corylinus (Matschie, 1912)
Caracal medjerdae (Matschie, 1912)
Caracal melanotis Gray, 1843
Caracal melanotix Gray, 1843
Caracal michaelis Heptner, 1945
Caracal roothi (Roberts, 1926)
Caracal spatzi (Matschie, 1912)