Caracal (Caracal caracal) Classification

Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776) is a felid commonly called the caracal. It is a slender, medium-sized cat (5.8–22 kg) characterized by a short tail and long ear tufts.

C. caracal has a wide distribution and is found throughout Africa, north to the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, central and southwest Asia into India; its habitat includes arid woodlands, savanna, scrublands, hilly steppes, and arid mountainous regions.

It is globally listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources as “Least Concern” despite population trends unknown across most of its geographic distribution. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora lists Asian populations under Appendix I and African populations under Appendix II.

Amanda M Veals, Alexandra D Burnett, Marina Morandini, Marine Drouilly, John L Koprowski
Caracal caracal (Carnivora: Felidae)
2020 Mammalian Species (52) Issue 993: 71–85

Understanding activity and habitat use are important for identifying mechanisms facilitating species co-occurrence.

We studied habitat use and activity patterns of caracals (Caracal caracal) and servals (Leptailurus serval), primarily nocturnal, midsized felids that prey extensively on small mammals and co-occur in portions of sub- Saharan Africa.

Spatial and temporal patterns of segregation were investigated in a 1,085-km² area of Serengeti National Park, Tanzania from 2010-2012. We used occupancy analysis to quantify habitat use and kernel density estimators and Mardia-Watson-Wheleer tests to analyse activity patterns.

We found evidence for habitat divergence but high temporal overlap between species. Servals selected for grassland and avoided shrubland and wooded grassland. In contrast, the findings showed that caracals avoided grassland and woodland-shrubland; however, 73% of caracals were detected in wooded grassland. Overall, caracals and servals co-occurred independently, Species Interaction Factor, (phi = 1).

This indicates that differential use of habitats in part facilitated coexistence of caracals and servals.

Proper management of the declining grasslands including other habitats are recommended to facilitate continued coexistence. Additional studies, including feeding ecology, would be important to further understand mechanisms facilitating coexistence between caracals and servals.

Mwampeta, S.; Magige, F.J.; Belant, J.L.
Spatial and temporal overlap of caracal and serval in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
2020 African Journal of Ecology (58): 361-370

Most people lack the opportunity to see non-domesticated animals in the wild. Consequently, people's perception of wild animals is based on what they see on (social) media. The way in which (social) media portrays non-domesticated animals determines our perception of and behaviour to these animals. People like to interact with animals, which is why venues which offer the opportunity to interact with non-domesticated animals are popular wildlife tourist attractions (WTAs). However, these WTAs more often than not profit at the expense of animal welfare, conservation and human safety. Participation in such WTAs should therefore be discouraged.

Through (social) media we are regularly exposed to images of non-domesticated animals in close interactions with humans. Exposure to such images seems to blur the line between what is a friendly domesticated animal and what is a potentially dangerous wild animal. Such images may also increase our desire to engage in interactions with non-domesticated animals ourselves and reduce moral concerns about the use of non-domesticated animals for such interactions, thereby promoting WTAs in which tourists can interact with non-domesticated animals. Wild cat species are commonly used in the wildlife tourism industry to interact with tourists.

In this study, we determine whether portrayal of wild cat species in interactions with humans promotes WTAs with wild cats. We presented respondents with an image of a wild cat species (lion, cheetah, caracal) in a control setting, walked by a human (WTA), petted by a human (WTA) or in the wild and asked them to answer a fixed set of questions.

We found that portraying wild cat species in interactions with humans reduced the fear of wild cats, encouraged people to regard WTAs with wild cats as acceptable and stimulated them to participate in such activities themselves.

van der Meer, E.; Botman, S.; Eckhardt, S.
I thought I saw a pussy cat: Portrayal of wild cats in friendly interactions with humans distorts perceptions and encourages interactions with wild cat species
2019  PLoS ONE (14): 1-24