Natural History

Posted in Carnivorans | Tagged Caracal, serval | 9 Comments

9 Responses

1. on April 28, 2013 at 10:06 pm kittenz

   Caracals are my favorite of all the smaller cats.

   
   
2. on April 28, 2013 at 10:55 pm Pai

   I’m surprised there hasn’t been a domestic cat breed made with a ‘stilt-legged’ look of a Serval. I think it looks very graceful and pretty.

   Instead, which get the opposite-styled abomination that is the ‘Munchkin’.

   
   
   • on April 29, 2013 at 2:45 am Kali

     I think the Oriental Shorthair is quite close to that look. :)

     
     
     • on April 29, 2013 at 3:35 am Pai

       They have the skinny proportions, but their legs aren’t nearly as long.

       
       
   • on April 29, 2013 at 6:53 am bearcoatpei

     They have hybridized servals and domestic cats. They call them a savannah. And ditto caracals, which they call caracats. Excuse me while I slap my hand to my forehead and mutter some obscenities under my breath.

     
     
3. on April 29, 2013 at 1:09 am alhilton

   Hey, I’m one of those crazy cat people who reads your blog and never comments. I worked at a zoo for a while.

   The coolest thing about this video is that both of these cats have their claws. You can see the claws emerge and catch the fabric when they strike at the toy. It is exceedingly rare for exotic pet cats to be allowed to run around inside and play with people like this without having their fingers cut off at the first joint. It’s quite common, even for zoo cats who never leave their cages, to be declawed because it makes them less dangerous and easier to manage. Declawing is really tough on the cat, though. It’s excruciating and makes them feel vulnerable. It’s heart-warming and impressive to see that someone managed to let them keep their “fingers” in such an intimate environment.

   
   
   • on May 8, 2013 at 11:57 pm kittenz

     That’s the first thing I noticed too: the cats have claws intact. I would never have a cat – of any species – declawed.

     
     
4. on April 30, 2013 at 6:26 am chervilmeadow

   Are they, basically, African versions of the lynx? Excuse my ignorance.

   
   
   • on April 30, 2013 at 8:40 am retrieverman

     At one time they were called caracal lynx, but they are a different offshoot of the small cat lineage.

     
     

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