The potential recovery of caracal (Caracal caracal) in its historic habitat of Rajasthan’s Ramgarh Visdhari Tiger Reserve (RVTR), from where it was considered locally extinct, has filled the scientific community with renewed hope. Camera-trap images captured a caracal at RVTR between mid-December and January this year. In April this year, Mongabay India also reported a sighting at the Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) in Kota, Rajasthan. Scientists say they believe it is the same individual — a dispersing sub-adult male seeking to establish territory.
Once widespread across India’s semi-arid zones, the caracal has lost over 90% of its historical range due to habitat destruction in the past century. The current findings, the first camera-trap records of caracals in RVTR and MHTR, suggest that they could be expanding beyond the two previously recognised areas of Kachchh in Gujarat and Ranthambhore-Kailadevi-Dholpur in Rajasthan.
One of the authors of the study, Ayan Sadhu of the Wildlife Institute of India, notes that the landscape once hosted caracals until populations went locally extinct. He points to two reasons: already small populations prone to extinction through genetic bottlenecks, and antagonistic interactions with humans and carnivores, including feral dogs. Most importantly, these areas were not surveyed earlier. Systematic camera-trapping now makes detection possible. “Caracals, who could have been present in very low numbers here, escaped detection,” he says. The research was published by the Wildlife Institute of India and supported by the Rajasthan Forest Department.
Identifying caracals from camera-trap photos is difficult. But based on timing and linear movement through successive areas, researchers conclude this is likely a dispersing sub-adult male. “Caracals are long-ranging cats,” explains Sadhu. “In Africa, their home ranges reach 700 sq. km in desert landscapes, and in Namibia, 15-20 sq. km. In my PhD work in Ranthambore, I saw them shift 10-20 km between valleys year to year. They do not remain confined to one patch.”
Dispersal happens either to establish territory or to find mates. But despite long-term camera-trap efforts since 2018, no resident caracals were recorded in these areas. “So, while habitat exists, the likelihood of this individual finding a mate is very low. If no mate is found, the outcome is uncertain. Dispersal is always risky,” Sadhu says.
For nocturnal, small cats like caracals, risks include snaring, road accidents, and other human threats. They favour open forests and scrub habitats, intersected by roads and railways, where many roadkills are reported. The same camera-trap sites also recorded tigers, leopards, hyenas, golden jackals, jungle cats, Asiatic wildcats, and rusty-spotted cats.
These findings signal a potential return of caracals to areas where they were considered extinct, emphasise the value of systematic camera-trapping, and underscore the need for dedicated ecological and behavioural surveys. “This recent dispersal is a hopeful sign. It suggests Ranthambore still has the ecological potential to produce dispersing individuals, and perhaps recolonise old habitats,” Sadhu says.
Banner image: The camera trap image of the caracal at RVTR. Image by Thakar et al. 2025
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