Rare caracal seen in Rahim Yar Khan’s Cholistan Desert
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A rare caracal (wild cat) was spotted in the Cholistan Desert of Rahim Yar Khan on Monday, wildlife officials said.
Rahim Yar Khan Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Mujahid Kalim told Dawn.com he “sighted the caracal at 7:30am while roaming near a cluster of rare Chankara deer to hunt them.”
Kalim recorded the first video in Punjab.
The caracal — among the beautiful and rare cats — is considered an expert on hunting desert animals, especially rabbits, birds, rats and deer by flying up to 9.8 feet. They typically give birth to one to six kittens.
According to the wildlife ranger, Cholistan is considered its a natural habitat.
The caracal is a medium-sized 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 centimetres at the shoulder and weighs eight to 19 kilograms.
The cat was first scientifically described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776 according to Wikipedia.
