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Recently, the National Board for Wildlife and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change have included the caracal in the list of critically endangered species.
About Caracal
- They are slender, medium-sized wild cats.
- The iconic ears give the animal its name caracal, which comes from the Turkish word ‘karakulak’, meaning black ears.
- In India, it is called Siya gosh, a Persian name that translates as ‘black ears’.
- A Sanskrit fable exists about a small wild cat named deergha-karn or ‘long-eared’.
- It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, and long canine teeth.
- The caracal is an elusive, primarily nocturnal animal.
- Habitat
- The caracal is found in several dozen countries across Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia.
- In India, the presence of these cats has been reported from only three states which are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
- Major Threats
- Infrastructure projects such as the building of roads lead to the fragmentation of the caracal’s ecology and disruption of its movement.
- The loss of habitat also affects the animal’s prey which includes small ungulates and rodents.
- In recent years, cases have been detected of the animal being captured to be sold as exotic pets.
- Conservation Status
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists caracals as a species of ‘least concern’ in its Red List.
- However, in India, these are listed as critically endangered species.
- Significance of Current Listing
- The listing of the caracal as critically endangered is expected to bring central funding to conservation efforts.
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Historical Context –
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