- A new study from the Greater Ranthambhore landscape found that nearly three-quarters of the caracal’s suitable habitat lies outside protected areas.
- Ravines, scrublands, grasslands and other open natural ecosystems emerged as key habitats for the elusive wild cat.
- Researchers estimate that the Ranthambhore-Kailadevi-Dholpur landscape could potentially support around 55 caracal home ranges, providing a baseline for future monitoring and conservation planning.
The caracal is one of India’s most elusive wild cats. With its sandy coat, lean frame and distinctive black ear tufts, it is instantly recognisable. Yet sightings are rare, and much of what researchers know about the species comes from scattered records rather than dedicated research.
A recent study from southeastern Rajasthan on caracals and their habitats, is looking to change that. Using camera-trap records and habitat modelling, researchers have identified areas likely to support caracals across the Greater Ranthambhore landscape and the environmental features most strongly associated with the species’ occurrence.
“Very little was known about its current distribution, habitat requirements, or population status. Most available information came from scattered historical records, opportunistic sightings, and anecdotal observations, making it difficult to develop effective conservation strategies. Our study was motivated by the need to move beyond isolated records and develop a landscape-level understanding of where suitable habitats still exist for the species,” shares Ayan Sadhu, a research scientist at the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India, and a corresponding author of the study.
A landscape beyond the tiger reserve
The study focused on the Kailadevi landscape, which forms the northern extension of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. Situated between Banas and Chambal rivers, the semi-arid region is a mosaic of scrub forests, rocky plateaus, ravines and villages. It supports a diverse carnivore community that includes tigers, leopards, wolves, striped hyenas and jungle cats.
To understand how caracals use this landscape, researchers deployed camera traps at 177 locations between January 2020 and March 2022. The survey accumulated 5,258 camera-trap days across roughly 600 square kilometres. Cameras were placed in areas where signs of carnivores had been recorded, with forest guards and local residents helping identify promising sites.
The effort yielded 92 independent photographs of caracals from 54 locations. Researchers then used those records to model habitat suitability across the broader Greater Ranthambhore landscape, stretching across eastern Rajasthan and into western Madhya Pradesh.
The modelling identified approximately 14,284 sq. km. of suitable habitat. Yet only about 26% of this area falls within the protected area landscape, with nearly three-quarters occurring in multiple-use landscapes outside national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
“Our results indicate that caracals are coexisting with humans in multiple-use landscapes. However, while living in human-dominated environments, they actively avoid areas of intensive human activity, such as settlements and human-use centres,” says Sadhu.
The importance of ravines
The Ranthambhore-Kailadevi-Dholpur cluster emerged as the largest contiguous patch of suitable habitat for caracals, identified by the study. About 1,230 sq. km. were classified as highly suitable, with about 40% of this highly suitable habitat falling inside the protected area network.
The findings also suggest that caracals favour relatively undisturbed refuge habitats within human-dominated landscapes. The researchers found that the species was strongly associated with open natural ecosystems such as scrublands, grasslands, open forests and ravines. Caracals were also more likely to occur in rugged terrain, farther from settlements and closer to water sources.
Among these habitats, ravines emerged as particularly important. The deeply dissected ravine systems associated with the Chambal river and its tributaries create structurally complex landscapes that may provide suitable hunting grounds as well as refuge from human disturbance. Terrain ruggedness was among the strongest predictors of caracal occurrence in the study.
For Sadhu, this highlights a broader conservation blind spot. Open natural ecosystems rarely feature prominently in conservation planning despite their ecological importance. “Many of the habitats preferred by caracals, such as scrublands, grasslands, ravines and open forests, are often perceived as degraded or unproductive lands despite their high ecological value. As a result, they are frequently targeted for agricultural expansion, infrastructure development, mining or plantation programmes,” says Sadhu.
Yet the study suggests these overlooked ecosystems contain a substantial share of the species’ suitable habitat.
Estimating a hidden population
The study also attempted something rarely done for the species in India — a quantitative estimate of the landscape’s potential capacity to support caracals. “Estimating the exact number of caracals is challenging because of the species’ elusive nature, large home ranges, naturally low densities, and the absence of unique coat markings that allow individual identification through camera trapping,” says Sadhu.
However, the analysis suggested that the Ranthambhore-Kailadevi-Dholpur landscape could potentially support around 55 caracal home ranges under current habitat conditions. Kailadevi accounted for the largest share, with the habitat sufficient for an estimated eight male and 23 female home ranges. Ranthambhore could potentially support four male and 10 female home ranges, while Dholpur could support three male and seven female home ranges.
The authors, however, stress that this should not be interpreted as a direct population estimate. Rather, they describe it as a preliminary indication of the number of caracal home ranges that could be supported by the available habitat and a useful baseline for future conservation planning and monitoring.
The study also identified suitable habitats across a broader network of landscapes in the Greater Ranthambhore ecosystem. It’s noteworthy that recent confirmed records remain concentrated in the Ranthambhore-Kailadevi-Dholpur region, and several landscapes identified as suitable by the model have not yielded caracal records in recent years despite extensive camera-trapping efforts, the researchers say. Recent detections from Mukundara Hills, Ramgarh Vishdhari, Gandhi Sagar and Kuno, however, suggest the species may still persist across parts of its historical range and underscore the importance of maintaining habitat connectivity, according to Sadhu.
Taken together, the findings underscore the importance of landscapes beyond protected areas for caracal conservation. Much of the suitable habitat identified by the study occurs in areas where people, livestock and wildlife coexist. Conserving these ecosystems will depend on maintaining habitat connectivity and preventing the conversion of open natural ecosystems into intensive land uses.
“The caracal is more than just a species of conservation concern. It is a symbol of India’s often-overlooked dryland and open natural ecosystems. Conserving the caracal will require recognising the importance of scrublands, grasslands, ravines and open forests,” says Sadhu.
Banner image: A caracal caught on camera trap. Image courtesy of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve.
Read more: New camera-trap record confirms caracal presence in Kuno
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