There is no patterning except for dark spots above the eyes, a large black spot on each side of the upper lip, and a shadowlike marking on the sheek. Only some young animals have a more or less distinct marking of dots on the belly and inner sides of the limbs. The entire body is slender, but strong. The hind paws are wider than for most other cats of the same size and some individual animals have hair pads under the soles. This gives the animal good support when pushing off and accelerating on sand and loose ground.
Caracals are more lively than many other cats and are extremely active during the day.
They capture anything, with prey ranging in size from mice to gazelles, and they are extremely skillful in beating down passing or flushed birds from the air by jumping after them. In South and Southwest Africa they are hated especially in sheep-breeding areas because they hunt for lambs, and no effort is spared to kill them. However, there are voices claiming that the damage done by caracals was far exaggerated and did not justify such merciless hunting, with partly rather ugly methods. The number of young per litter is normally two to four. The adult animals seem to be solitary animals, but nothing is known about their social structure and territorial behavior, if any.