The Caracal is a fiercely territorial medium-sized cat ranging over Western Asia and Africa. With their sleek, streamlined bodies, reddish gold coats, and the dramatic markings on the face, Caracals are among the most beautiful of cats. Also called the desert lynx, medium-sized caracals have no spots or stripes and have longer legs than a true lynx and a slimmer body. They are the heaviest and also the fastest of the small cats. Like the rest of the small cats, they may purr when content and make a variety of other mews, growls, and hisses to express their mood.