Caracals are reddish cats with tufted large black ears, long legs, a short tail, and a slender body. They are found in steppe, arid lands, woodlands, savanna, and scrub, typically where there is sufficient cover for ambushing prey, and range through Africa outside the Sahara and Congo, along the rim of Arabia, into the Middle East, and part-way into India. They mainly eat rodents, hyraxes, and hares, but have been known to take mid-sized prey such as springboks.
In addition to the usual meows, growls, hisses, and purrs made by small cats, caracals will also bark, possibly as a warning call.