It is hard to guess what a Caracal weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Caracal (Caracal caracal) on average weights 11.98 kg (26.42 lbs).
The Caracal is from the family Felidae (genus: Caracal). It is usually born with about 196 grams (0.43 lbs). They can live for up to 17 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 74.1 cm (2′ 6″). Usually, Caracals have 2 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, 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 cm (16–20 in) at the shoulder and weighs 8–18 kg (18–40 lb). It was first scientifically described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776. Three subspecies are recognised since 2017.Typically nocturnal, the caracal is highly secretive and difficult to observe. It is territorial, and lives mainly alone or in pairs. The caracal is a carnivore that typically preys upon small mammals, birds, and rodents. It can leap higher than 4 m (12 ft) and catch birds in midair. It stalks its prey until it is within 5 m (16 ft) of it, after which it runs it down and kills its prey with a bite to the throat or to the back of the neck. Both sexes become sexually mature by the time they are one year old and breed throughout the year. Gestation lasts between two and three months, resulting in a litter of one to six kittens. Juveniles leave their mothers at the age of nine to ten months, though a few females stay back with their mothers. The average lifespan of captive caracals is nearly 16 years.Caracals have been tamed and used for hunting since the time of ancient Egypt.
Animals of the same family as a Caracal
We found other animals of the Felidae family:
- Eurasian lynx bringing 19.3 kilos (42.55 lbs) to the scale
- Jaguar bringing 84.26 kilos (185.76 lbs) to the scale
- Jaguarundi bringing 6.88 kilos (15.17 lbs) to the scale
- Geoffroy’s cat bringing 2.73 kilos (6.02 lbs) to the scale
- Serval bringing 11.9 kilos (26.23 lbs) to the scale
- Chinese mountain cat bringing 5.49 kilos (12.1 lbs) to the scale
- Bay cat bringing 3.43 kilos (7.56 lbs) to the scale
- Andean mountain cat bringing 8.13 kilos (17.92 lbs) to the scale
- Ocelot bringing 11.89 kilos (26.21 lbs) to the scale
- Iberian lynx bringing 11.08 kilos (24.43 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Caracal
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Caracal caracal:
- Black snub-nosed monkey with a weight of 11 kilos (24.25 lbs)
- Ursine tree-kangaroo with a weight of 13.28 kilos (29.28 lbs)
- Nilgiri langur with a weight of 10.6 kilos (23.37 lbs)
- Pudú with a weight of 9.6 kilos (21.16 lbs)
- White-bellied duiker with a weight of 13.1 kilos (28.88 lbs)
- Canada lynx with a weight of 9.73 kilos (21.45 lbs)
- Sulawesi bear cuscus with a weight of 10 kilos (22.05 lbs)
- Capped langur with a weight of 11.21 kilos (24.71 lbs)
- Southern muriqui with a weight of 10.57 kilos (23.3 lbs)
- Gray snub-nosed monkey with a weight of 12.27 kilos (27.05 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Caracal
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Caracal:
- Sulawesi palm civet with a size of 68.9 cm (2′ 4″)
- Jungle cat with a size of 70.6 cm (2′ 4″)
- Mandrill with a size of 75.8 cm (2′ 6″)
- Golden snub-nosed monkey with a size of 64.7 cm (2′ 2″)
- Mantled guereza with a size of 62.5 cm (2′ 1″)
- Black colobus with a size of 62.9 cm (2′ 1″)
- Agile wallaby with a size of 64.6 cm (2′ 2″)
- Black-footed gray langur with a size of 65.5 cm (2′ 2″)
- Eurasian otter with a size of 68.9 cm (2′ 4″)
- Crab-eating fox with a size of 65 cm (2′ 2″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Caracal
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (2) as a Caracal:
- Antelope jackrabbit
- Brown mouse lemur
- Highveld gerbil
- Rusty-spotted genet
- Sonoran woodrat
- Island fox
- Coxing’s white-bellied rat
- Mexican harvest mouse
- Long-nosed echymipera
- Indian palm squirrel
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Caracal
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Caracal:
- Ursine tree-kangaroo with an average maximal age of 20.17 years
- Red river hog with an average maximal age of 20 years
- Cougar with an average maximal age of 20 years
- Raccoon dog with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Giant armadillo with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Fossa (animal) with an average maximal age of 20 years
- European polecat with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Black-footed mongoose with an average maximal age of 15.83 years
- Mexican free-tailed bat with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Black-fronted duiker with an average maximal age of 19.67 years