Medium-sized African Wild Cats

Three Medium-Sized African Cats

There are three medium-sized African wild cats - the Caracal, Serval and African Golden Cat which weigh up to a maximum of 16 to 19kg.

All three cats belong to the Caracal lineage. The Caracal and African Golden Cat are more closely related in the Caracal genus but the Serval is more distantly related and is classed in its own Leptailurus genus.

Each Cat Occupies a Different Niche

All three wild cat species predate on similar prey, however each cat occupies a different habitat thus reducing competition.

The Caracal predominantly occupies savanna and semi-arid habitats; the Serval inhabits grasslands and wetlands and the African Golden Cat is a forest habitat specialist.

Servals and Golden Cats are Endemic

The Serval and the African Golden Cat are endemic to Africa, but the Caracal's range extends through the Middle East and into Asia.

Except for the desert and rainforest regions, both Caracals and Servals are widespread throughout Africa. However the African Golden Cat only occurs in the rainforests of the central equatorial belt.

Endemic = occurs in only one location

List of African countries for Caracals, Servals and African Golden Cats

List of African countries where each medium-sized African cat species naturally occurs - according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2021.1).

Use the Search bar to find out the following:

• Which cats occur in a certain country - eg South Africa
• How many / which countries does a cat occur in - eg Serval

Use the Sort function (click on column heading) to find out which countries all three cats occur in.