THE CARACAL 



saw a large Rooi-kat bound off towards an adjacent 

 thorny thicket. Although it was early in the 

 afternoon, it had ventured forth a considerable 

 distance across the veld and attacked and killed an 

 ostrich hen while sitting on her eggs. It shattered 

 the vertebrae of her neck with a single bite. We 

 subsequently organised a hunt with a number of 

 Kafirs and other folk of every shade of colour, 

 and with as many dogs as they could muster among 

 them, these coloured gentry spread out in crescent 

 form and entered a large patch of bush on a rocky 

 hillside, shouting, yelling, and pitching stones 

 into every clump of extra thick scrub. In this 

 manner they slowly advanced in the direction of 

 the men with the guns, who had hidden themselves 

 away in front so as to command the open spaces. 

 Eventually a female Rooi-kat was shot while attempt- 

 ing to gain sanctuary in a wooded kloof, and a large 

 and powerful male was chased by the dogs, and after 

 killing and maiming a few, it sought refuge up a 

 tree, and was then easily shot. When brought to 

 bay in the open the Caracal, especially the male, 

 fights furiously with its talons and teeth, making 

 a peculiar spitting noise, very similar to that of 

 a domestic cat, but the sound is ever so much 

 louder. 



Sometimes these cats make their lair in the hoUow 

 interior of an old forest tree. In these cavities 

 the young are often born and reared. 



At other times the kittens are reared on the ground 



159 



