Caracals at Dresden Zoo have offspring

Wildcat offspring at Dresden Zoo: The caracal family has grown with the addition of a new cub, Karlos. The three-year-old mother Donna gave birth to the little male on November 17, as the zoo announced. She also gave birth to a second cub, but it died within the first few hours of life.

Karlos shows himself to visitors for the first time

Karlos, on the other hand, is very fit and is developing magnificently. Around seven weeks after his birth, he moved into the show enclosure for the first time on Tuesday. With a bit of luck, visitors will be able to observe the young animal and his mother there.

Father Harvey is now separated from the two until they have settled in well and Karlos has grown a little more. Caracals are solitary animals and the males are not involved in rearing them. The male was therefore not present at the birth either. This is the couple's first offspring together.

Decades of caracal tradition at Dresden Zoo

This continues a long tradition for Dresden Zoo. According to the zoo, the world's first captive breeding of this species took place in 1937.

Caracals are found from South Africa to Central Asia. They live to be around 20 years old and about one meter tall. In the wild, they prey on small mammals and birds, jumping up to three meters high. The young animals are still blind in the first few days of life and are therefore dependent on the protection of the den and the mother. From the second week of life, they slowly begin to erect themselves until the distinctive tufted ears have formed at around four weeks of age.