Caracals are nocturnal, which means that they are often not spotted. Indeed, in our time in South Africa, it was the only local cat which we did not see. It has a huge distribution, which includes Africa, the middle east, central Asia and even parts of northern India and Pakistan. It is an expert jumper, and often catches birds in flight, being able to jump more than 3m straight up. It comes from the same genetic line as the serval and the African Golden cat.

Generally, while it is wide spread and usually relatively plentiful it is an animal that either takes a lot of luck or a great deal of patience to see it in the wild.