Hermes the caracal spotted on the hunt

The curious caracal that Capetonians have come to know and love is back again, and this time little Hermes was spotted out on the hunt.

While watching a Cape grey mongoose make its way along the path in Echo Valley on Table Mountain, hikers got more of a show than they were expecting.

It turns out the hikers were not the only ones watching the mongoose, as Hermes jumped from his stalking spot in the bush and caught the unsuspecting animal right in front of them.

According to the Urban Caracal Project, this is an exceptional and rare sighting.

“Through our diet study Cape Town caracals are known to kill other smaller carnivores. We have also recorded them feeding on water mongoose and large spotted genet. As opportunistic generalists caracals take advantage of any available prey but these hikers were lucky enough to see it in action,” said the project in their Facebook page.

See the pictures of the amazing sighting below:

Residents are reminded to report their sightings on the Urban Caracal Project website here: http://www.urbancaracal.org/report-sightings-roadkill

Also read: How many times has Cape Town seen its favourite caracal?

Pictures: Retha Wareham