Interesting image from Ireland - pretty sure it's not a Caracal - some type of lynx yes - feet not very visible but they look quite big and furry.

John Murray, Scottish Big Cats

It's an interesting one but I'm 90% certain that is not a caracal. A caracal would have the long legs & small head (relative to body) that this shows, but the ears are way too small, and the colour appears very light for a caracal (although that may be poor exposure on the photography). The tail looks pointed which according to my reference guides would make it more likely a lynx but not sure on the differences between Canadian & European /Siberian lynx. If it were an escaped pet (the report mentioned a collar?) I would speculate a Siberian origin was more likely (a friend of mine in customs & excise mentioned once that Russian far east was a source of a lot of wildlife smuggling)

Who identified it as a caracal originally? was it someone who knew there stuff or was it a journalist with a field guide?

Phil Crosby, Scottish Big Cats

I'm far from an expert, and no doubt Ben will correct if necessary, but I believe that one of the major differences is the size. Eurasian and Canadian lynx appear to be the most similar members of the genus and were previously thought to be cospecific. However, Bobcat, Canadian Lynx and Iberian lynx are all fairly small and indeed behave like smaller cats, whereas Eurasian lynx are more like larger cats. Eurasian lynx are larger physically than the other species, they live much longer, have a larger hunting range, kill bigger prey, and have a lower population density.

There are three main Eurasian lynx coat colours - striped, spotted, (ie tabbies) and pattern-less. It seems that in European lynx re-introduction programmes generally large, striped or spotted lynx have been released. However evidence suggests that the lynx in the Alps tended to be smaller and lack coat patterns.

Chris Smith, Scottish Big Cats

According to the Audubon field manual, the bobcat on average will range between 12 pounds in females, up to 40 pounds in males. The largest bobcat on record was killed in Michigan in the 1960's and weighed 69 pounds.

It is curious how the cat pictured could have been considered a caracal but something did occur to me. I have one edition of Funk & Wagnals which clearly and mistakenly pictures two caracals under the European Lynx lynx. I can only wonder what cat was pictured for the caracal. Is it possible that these books were used to reference the cat in question? If I still have the book I'll image the picture. These errors are not uncommon when it comes to cats and probably other subjects as well. I suspect this or some other erroneous source caused the cat to be misidentified.

Ben Willis, Scottish Big Cats

It seems that we are not the only ones who think thisis a lynx, not a caracal. I found the following in Animals and Men number 9, 1996, Edited by Jonathan Downes.

A lynx was shot dead by a R.U.C. marksman near the village of Fintona on the 18 th of February. The shooting followed days of reports of a 'young lion' in the area. The lynx, which was wearing a collar, was believed to have escaped from a private collection. The incident has increased demands for legislation in the province, which is not covered by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976. At present, there is no requirement for a license to keep a wild animal in private premises, and as shown on recent BBC television 'Watchdog' programmes, large cats are still being kept in makeshift cages in back gardens. The night previous to the killing of the lynx, (which according to some reports was a carcal), another mystery cat was shot a few miles away. This was described as 'a wildcat', and was apparently 'tabby', but twice the size of a domestic cat.'

This is particularly interesting because, there are not, officially any wild cats in Ireland. In Dr. Karl Shuker's book 'Mystery Cats of the World,' and again in the editors forthcoming book, (Jonathan Downes) 'The Smaller Mystery Carnivores of the West Country', evidence by Scharff and others suggesting that not only have wildcats survived in parts of Ireland until recently, if not the present day, but that they appear to be F. lybcia rather than F. silvestris, is discussed. This corpse would, therefore have been a potentially invaluable piece of Cryptozoological evidence. Alison Downes contacted the R.U.C. and was told that the corpses were to be stuffed for the R.U.C. museum. We were promised photographs but at he time of writing, six weeks after the event, it seems unlikely that they will arrive.

Alison phoned again a few weeks later, to be told that the corpses were still waiting for autopsy, and that contrary to previous reports they will be probably destroyed. We have made tentative efforts to purchase the wildcat corpse for CFZ, but it seems highly unlikely that we shall succeed.

(CFZ is the Centre For Fortean Zoology run by Jonathan Downes who is the editor of Animals & Men.)

We're grateful to Peter Dignan for the following - it looks like the P&J got the animal's species correct, but not the continent. Chris Smith

A WILD African Lynx roaming the countryside in Northern Ireland was shot dead in a field yesterday by police marksmen.

There had been sightings for days of what police believed was a young lion in the Fintona area of County Tyrone.

The lynx is thought to have escaped from a collector.

Looks a bit rough for a Caracal. Could this be due to the amount of bullets fired?

An earlier report said there were two cats. Is this the other one?

It seems to have frightened the cops though. I feel sorry for the cat.

Terry Dye

When I first saw the photo I thought that the cat looked very much like a lynx. Everybody else seems to agree that it isn't a caracal and is most probably a European lynx. It is a shame that it was killed - Lara the Lynx in London doesn't know how lucky she was that it was the zoo who captured her not police marksmen. We had a similar incident a few years back when a wild boar escaped from a farm and was shot by the police after being on the loose for several weeks. People claimed he had tried to attack them. In fact, they would thunder across the field every time they saw somebody - because they were used to being fed. I think he just reacted as he always had don, and without the security of a fence, people, naturally enough, thought he was attacking, rather than just wanting a feed and a scratch.

There was something about the other cat in the Fortean Times. They said " Inquiries uncovered two other recent sightings. A week later, the sightings were thought to be of a large domestic cat called Dylan."

Chris Smith, Scottish Big Cats

Dear friends,

I'd like to say how amazed I am by the testimony of so called "wild cat experts" these days, in the media!

How on earth could this cat photoed here with the officers, possibly be a caracal, for God's sake?!

Caracal's features, ears, fur type and colour, tail length and body size, are all starkly differant to this cat in the picture. It is very clearly a Euroasian Lynx, possibly Siberian.

Investigator & writer on wild cats.

That's definately a bobcat. I've seen them up real close while Deer hunting in Louisiana before,I had one at the base of the the tree my tree stand was in, looking up at me once! That's definitely a bobcat, and they are mean as hell.

Steve Miller

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