Hermes, Cape Town’s beloved adventuring caracal, has died

Posted by Lisa Abdellah on 10 May 2023

Hermes, an adult male caracal well-known and loved in Cape Town, was hit by a passing car and died last night.

Hermes was identifiable by his light-blue and green ear tags and became something of a mascot for the Urban Caracal Project, with many of his exploits and adventures bringing delight to Capetonians over the years.

Here’s more about Hermes and his unique background story from Cape Town’s Urban Caracal Project:

‘Hermes is an adult male caracal who we tagged back in 2018. He’s incredibly resilient and charismatic, and he’s been sighted many times over the years on Table Mountain’s beautiful trails. Unlike other spotted wild cats, caracals don’t have uniquely distinguishable markings, but Hermes can be recognised by his ear tags: light blue on the left and light green on the right.’

Picture: Scott Clarkson / @clarkson.dop

The Urban Caracal Project first encountered him in 2018, when he was hit by a car on Camp’s Bay Drive, near where at least two other caracals had been hit and killed. But Hermes survived, despite nearly biting off his tongue, which was quickly sewn back on at Tamboerskloof Veterinary Practice.

‘While receiving X-rays at the vet, it was discovered that this was not the first car accident Hermes had been in. He had been hit by a car before, which severely broke his hind leg. Although he has since healed, this incident caused his right hind leg to be shorter than his left.’

Capetonians have taken great pleasure in various documented sightings of the caracal’s exploits and adventures.

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ALSO READ: Look: Frame-worthy snaps of a caracal caught on candid camera






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