Conservation of Caracal

Project Animal(s) : Caracal (Caracal caracal)
Project Category : Mammals
Project Region : Africa
Project Type : Conservation
Project URL : http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=111
Project is timebound? : No

The caracal populations on the African continent are included into Appendix II of CITES, while the ones in Asia are included in Appendix I. However, the caracal is not legally protected in most of its range. Hunting is prohibited in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, Zaire, Afghanistan, Algeria, India, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Hunting and trade is regulated in Botswana, Central African Republic, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania and Zambia. There is no legal protection in Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. In Namibia and South Africa it has the legal status of a problem animal which allows farmers to kill it without restriction. There is no information available for Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Syria and Western Sahara.

There are efforts to improve the knowledge about the status and the ecology of the caracal outside Africa and protected areas. For example, a caracal project to research habitat ecology of the caracal was established in Turkey. Such projects are important to set priorities and are fundamental for the conservation of the caracal and the development of effective and ecologically sound methods for its management, especially on private land.

Caracals have an adaptable behaviour which seems to enable them to recolonize vacant areas after local extirpation. Without heavy persecution, the caracal adjusts well to living in settled areas. In this regard there is a need to minimize conflict with humans mainly with farmers, and more effective small stock protection. Caracals can even be beneficial for crop farmers since they can effectively limit pests such as hyrax populations.

Project Agency : Cat Specialist Group

Project Agency Contact : http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=1

Additional Information :

http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=13