As caracals inch towards extinction, path to conserving the wild cat remains unclear

As caracals inch towards extinction, path to conserving the wild cat remains unclear

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• An estimated 50 caracals are left in the small clusters in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, making caracal the second cat species after the Asiatic cheetah to reach the brink of extinction in India.

Details:

• Factors leading to the decline in the population are yet to be identified. Though experts speculate it could be a species-specific disease more data is needed to back their speculations.
  • Large-scale hunting and illegal trade were the two main causes for the decline but poaching and seizure of the cat have not been reported for many decades.
• In 2021, the National Biodiversity Wildlife Board announced a Species Recovery Plan for the conservation and population revival of 22 species in India, including the caracal.

Caracal (Caracal caracal schmitzi):

• A small wild cat noted for its long-tufted ears and a reddish-tan or sandy-brown coat.
• The feline, with distinctive black markings on its face and white circles around the eyes and mouth, is native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India.
• Typically nocturnal, 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 birds, rodents, and other small mammals.
• After the Asiatic cheetah, which was declared extinct in 1952, the caracal will be the second cat species to be wiped out from the country.
• Protection status:
  • The species is listed under ‘least concern’ under the IUCN Red List globally, it has been listed as ‘near threatened’ by the Conservation Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP) and IUCN Red List assessment in India.
  • The species is included in the Schedule-I category of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, offering it the highest possible protection.
• Habitat range:
  • It is a species of wasteland, open forests and shrublands.
  • Historically, the caracal was found all across Central India and the Indo-Gangetic plains. But there has been no sighting of the animal in these regions for the last 40 years.
  • Some 28 caracal individuals are found in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan and around 20 in Kutch in Gujarat.

Assessment for conservation of the species:

• In 2022, WII along with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Madhya Pradesh Forest Department and Leo Foundation of The Netherlands conducted a study in nine states – Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh – on the presence of caracals.
• The study indicated that areas in Kutch (Gujarat), Aravalli mountains (Rajasthan), Malwa plateau (Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh) and Bundelkhand region (Madhya Pradesh) were potentially suitable habitats for caracals. It further identified the Ranthambore-Kuno Landscape (RKL), which falls in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, as a highly potential caracal habitat area and a suitable site for the conservation of the feline. The Madhya Pradesh Biodiversity Board is also undertaking a study on caracals in this landscape.
• Rajasthan Forest Department is planning to start a breeding programme for caracals.

Source: Mongabay