Rare ‘barking cat’ spotted in Oman mountains. See the ‘acrobatic’ carnivore
A long, slender cat slinks through the rocky terrain on a mountain in Oman — right in front of a trap camera set up by the Environment Authority.
Officials reviewing the footage recognized the creature as an Arabian caracal, the authority said in an Oct. 8 Facebook post. The caracal was in the western mountain range of Musandem — a mountainous region in the northeastern Arabian peninsula — about 1,670 feet about sea level.
Caracals are medium-sized cats with sand-colored fur, long tufted black ears, long legs and long canine teeth, according to the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency. They are found in Africa, Central Asia, southwest Asia and India.
The carnivores are also known as “barking cats” because they make a barking noise when threatened, the agency said.
Officials said the species is not at risk of extinction, but they have become increasingly rare on the Arabian peninsula.
Caracals are often mistaken for lynxes because of their tufted ears, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. They measure between 33 and 48 inches, including their tail, and typically weigh between 25 pounds and 40 pounds.
The “supremely acrobatic” cats are “excellent jumpers and climbers,” and they regularly stalk their prey before pouncing to attack, experts with the institute said. They primarily eat birds, rodents and small antelopes. They mainly hunt at twilight but are also active at night, in hot weather and during the daytime in the winter.
Google Translate was used to translate a post from Oman’s Environment Authority.
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