Caracal

In Africa and Asia lives a lightly built cat, with a longer tail and longer ear tufts than those of the bobcat, but without a fringe of hair on its cheeks. It is known as the caracal or African or Asiatic lynx. It may be plain pale fawn, reddish-brown, brown, or gray above, and is mostly spotted on the underside. It is two and a half to three feet long, plus a nine-inch tail, and weighs up to 40 pounds. The caracal prefers open or brushy country. It sometimes hunts on cloudy days, but most of its hunting is done at night. Small antelopes, monkeys, birds, or any small mammal it can catch are its food. Its den, where the two or three young are born, may be in a hole in which aardvarks or porcupines once lived.