|
|
Caracal
 |
|
| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Caracals are distributed over Africa and West Asia. Their habitat is dry steppes and semi-deserts, but also include woodlands, savanna, and scrub forest. They are solitary, or paired, territorial cats. A caracal may survive without drinking for a long period—the water demand is satisified with the body fluids of the prey. It hunts at night (but in colder seasons also in the daytime) for rodents and hares; rarely it may even attack a gazelle, a small antelope or a young ostrich. They are picky eaters, and discard the internal organs of the mammals they catch, partially pluck the fur off of hyraxes and larger kills, and avoid eating hair by shearing meat neatly from the skin. But they will eat the feathers of small birds and are tolerant of rotten meat. They are most well-known for their skill with hunting birds; a caracal is able to snatch a bird in flight, sometimes more than one at a time. Caracals can jump and climb exceptionally well, which enables them to catch hyraxes better than probably any other carnivore. Their life expectancy in the wild is 12 years, or 17 years in captivity. Since they are also surprisingly easy to tame, they have been used as hunting cats in Iran and India.
Because they are so easily tamed, caracals are sometimes kept as pets (especially in the United States), and are said to adapt easily to living with humans. They are often viewed as vermin by farmers in Africa because they frequently climb over fences to eat chickens and other poultry.
Caracals are almost impossible to see in the wild, not because there are very few of them, but because they hide extremely well. Game drives in countries such as Kenya and Botswana widely encounter other animals, but a sighting of a caracal is extremely rare.
The caracal has been hybridised with the domestic cat. I Kusminych and A Pawlowa reported a caracal/domestic hybrid cat at Moscow Zoo
Camera Model
Canon EOS 350D DIGITAL
Shooting Date/Time
2/12/2006 14:04:01
Shooting Mode
Shutter-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/320
Av( Aperture Value )
4.0
Metering Mode
Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
400
Lens
98.0 - 280.0mm
Focal Length
280.0mm |
nainnain, dew77, elefantino has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes. |
|
|
|
hi annick,
nice capture,
composed well,
the eye contact is very good,
framed well,
tfs & regards
pankaj
- pvb
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 385 W: 16 N: 531]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(1981) - [2006-12-03 7:06]
-
Hi Annick,
Deze foto springt er echt uit. Prachtige kleuren!
Goede scherpte en diepte en details. Prachtige compositie.
gr. paula
Nice cats! :-D...well fed pet I think
bonjour ANNICK
ceci est une magnifique capture
belle macro, couleurs et détails super
travail excellent
salutations
edith
-
- magal
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 224 W: 0 N: 313]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(1251) - [2006-12-03 11:54]
- [+]
Hi Annick,
Beautiful shot of this feline. I like the way the grass hides the lower part of the face. The only pity is that the ears are not in the frame.
tfs
Mark
-
- dew77
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4432 W: 248 N: 4028]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(13270) - [2006-12-04 1:57]
-
Hello Annick,
Wonderful capture.Eye contact is amazing.I liked POV,framing and composition also a lot.
TFS...:-)
Hello!
This is a very nice and usual picture of this little beauty! I think that he has some kind of very special eyes! I enjoyed ready your notes about this great specie and your picture is very representative of it. Even in captivity, they seem to like being hidden :-) Nice lose-up with good details and expression for this big cat. He was looking at you ;) Well done!
Claudine
Nice portrait, eyes are mazing.
Andrea
![Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2486 W: 0 N: 0]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-n.gif)
(0)