A slender, medium-sized African wild cat with a small head, big ears and a golden coat spotted and striped with black. It has the longest legs of any cat for its size, and hunts by listening for rodents in tall grass and reeds, then pouncing.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?Can be
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inAfrica
HabitatGrassland, Wetland
ColoursGold, Black
SizeMedium
Length67–100 cm (head and body)
Weight8–18 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives alone
Lives for10–20 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Widespread in sub-Saharan Africa; in North Africa only in Morocco, and reintroduced in Tunisia.
- What it eats
- Mostly rodents (80–97% of its diet), plus shrews, birds, hares, frogs, insects and reptiles.
Did you know
The longest legs of any cat for its size, and it hunts by ear in tall grass.
Its ears can rotate up to 180 degrees independently of each other.
It can stay motionless for up to 15 minutes, listening, before it pounces.
Often confused with
- Caracal
The caracal has long black ear tufts and a plain reddish-tan coat without spots.
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