Night Cats Transcript, continued
dreas: Sir, which cat has a wider prey base, the serval or the caracal?
Peter Gros: They both have a very diverse prey base, from rodents to antelope. The spotted coat of the serval may give it a little more advantage to hunt in areas with vegetation, since the dappled coat is much better camouflage in areas with shadows. Their varied diet is, I think, their major reason for survival, as everything from desert hedgehogs, rodents, mongoose, lizards, reptiles, insects and even sometimes vegetable matter can be part of their diet.
grizzle: Do caracals behave differently in areas that lack big predators?
Peter Gros: Yes, they do. The caracal's main concern, other than raising young and finding food, is always ensuring that it not become food. So with fewer large predators, the population tends to do a little better without the stress of becoming food.
piver: Are the smaller cats like the caracal basically friendly toward humans?
Peter Gros: The smaller cats like the caracal and serval are not friendly toward humans in the wild. Instinctually, almost all small and large cats are afraid of humans. Cats have been domesticated for over 5,000 years, and have adapted to become pets. I'm not recommending anyone EVER think of a wild animal as a pet. But these thousands of years of domestication for house cats is the proof that cats can be domesticated. Historically, people have used caracals for hunting, and if they're hand-raised from the time their eyes open, they did in some cases bond with their skilled trainers. But wild animals never lose their wild instincts.
JohnMan: How do the small "wild" cats react when they encounter a lion or a leopard?
Peter Gros: Their first instinct is to freeze and blend into their environment, which is perfect if you are a caracal in a sandy area. You blend perfectly if you're motionless in your environment. Generally, by the cats remaining motionless, the large carnivores will just pass by into their territory. If they have young, their next goal is to relocate their dens and their young so they can't be found by their scent.
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