A homeowner in Marbella Spain was shocked to discover what he thought was a lynx roaming around his garden!
The Marbella Town Hall Veterinary Health team captured a caracal, a hybrid of a caracal and an Abyssinian cat, that had strayed from its home in Nueva Andalucía and travelled almost 20 kilometers before entering the garden of a property in the Costabella urbanization.
The homeowner had alerted authorities thinking there was a lynx in his garden. However, it turned out to be the caracal, a feline that is considered a domestic animal and is part of the town hall’s catalog of potentially dangerous animals.
The animal, named Jakar and weighing around 20 kilograms, disappeared on January 1 from its owner’s home on Avenida del Prado in Nueva Andalucía. That same day, an alert was issued in the Costabella area in the Las Chapas district, about 20 kilometers from the cat’s residence.
The 112 Emergency Service had received various reports of a medium-sized animal that there could be a lynx in the area. Officers from the Guardia Civil went to the location and confirmed through photos taken by the caller that the feline was wearing a collar, indicating it was a pet. However, at that time, a search in the area was unsuccessful.
The following day, a new alert was received from the owner of a property whose garden the caracal had entered, who also thought it was a lynx. The Guardia Civil went to the property and notified the municipal Veterinary Health team, which captured the animal.
The animal was taken to the El Paraiso Zoo (Zoologico El Paraiso), where it was checked by a veterinary surgeon and found to be in good health. The cat remains at the zoo and is waiting for its owner to present the necessary legal documentation to retrieve it.
What exactly is a caracal?
A caracal is a hybrid between a caracal and an Abyssinian cat. The caracal is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and India. The Abyssinian is a domestic cat breed known for its distinctive coat, which has a ticked pattern with bands of color on each hair.
The resulting hybrid, the caracal, is a domestic animal that may have the physical characteristics and traits of both parent breeds. It is not a recognized breed by any major cat breed organizations.
