Kazakhstan 100 Tenge Silver Coin 2009 Caracal
Disappearing Animals series
This incredible coin with a gilded image of a caracal and 2 diamond eyes was minted in a low mintage. Caracal is best known for its spectacular skill at hunting birds, able to snatch a bird in flight, sometimes more than one at a time.Obverse: In the central part - the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Above it a nominal value of the coin: 100 Tenge “100 ТЕҢГЕ”, name of the issuing bank in Kazakh “ҚАЗАҚСТАН ҰЛТТЫҚ БАНКІ” (National Bank of Kazakhstan) along circumference, "Ag 925" means metal and standard of coinage.
Reverse: Gilded image of a caracal with two diamonds in eyes, trade mark of Kazakhstan Mint, along circumference year of coinage “2009”, name of zoological species in Kazakh “ҚАРАҚАЛ” and in Latin “FELIS CARACAL”.
Face value – 100 Tenge.
Date of issue: 26 February 2011.
All images are relief.
Lateral face is grooved.
Fineness: 925 Ag.
Weight: 31.1 gr. Weight is indicated without mass of insert and coverage.
Diameter: 38.61 mm.
Quality: proof.
Mintage: max 13000 (3000 for internal Kazakhstan market).
Disappearing Animals series
Caracal Tiger
Caracal
The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and India. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and threatened by anthropogenic mortality and habitat loss due to conversion of natural habitat for agricultural land and settlements. Its natural habitat includes semi-deserts, open savannas, shrublands, moist woodlands and montane forests. The caracal is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, and long canine teeth. Its coat is uniformly reddish tan or sandy, while the ventral parts are lighter with small reddish markings. It reaches 40–50 cm (16–20 in) at the shoulder and weighs 8–18 kg (18–40 lb). It was first described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1777. Eight subspecies are recognised.
Typically nocturnal (active at night), the caracal is highly secretive and difficult to observe. It is territorial, and lives mainly alone or in pairs. The caracal is a carnivore that typically preys upon small mammals, birds and rodents. It can leap higher than 3 m (9.8 ft) and catch birds in mid-air. It stalks its prey until it is within 5 m (16 ft) of it, after which it runs it down, the prey being killed by a bite to the throat or to the back of the neck. Breeding takes place throughout the year with both sexes becoming sexually mature by the time they are a year old. Gestation lasts between two and three months, resulting in a litter of one to six kittens. Juveniles leave their mothers at nine to ten months, though a few females stay back with their mothers. The average lifespan of the caracal in captivity is nearly 16 years.
Caracals have been tamed and used for hunting in ancient Egypt and until the 20th century.