Mohammad Mairaj, Dhruv Jain, Ramanand Bhakar, Ayan Sadhu
We collected Caracal Caracal caracal presence locations using camera traps in the human-dominated Kailadevi landscape in southeastern Rajasthan, India. Our survey effort of 5,258 camera trap days at 177 camera trap locations in a sampling area of about 600 km² yielded 92 independent photocaptures at 54 locations between January 2020 and March 2022. Relative abundance index values indicate that the Caracal has been consistently photocaptured over the three sampling sessions. We used these data to model potential Caracal habitats at the landscape level using MaxEnt, and we used generalized linear models to identify the factors influencing Caracal detection site at the camera trap level. The habitat suitability results indicate that, out of the entire extent of 109,663 km² spanning the Greater Ranthambhore Ecosystem from eastern Rajasthan to western Madhya Pradesh, an area of 14,284 km² constitutes suitable habitat for the Caracal, of which about 26% occurs within the protected area network. Of all the suitable habitats, about 1,230 km² was classified as highly suitable, with 41% distributed across the protected area network. The Ranthambhore–Kailadevi–Dholpur cluster harbours the largest contiguous patches. Suitable Caracal habitats showed positive association with open natural ecosystems, rugged terrain, and proximity to water, but negative association with human disturbance. At camera trap level, site use intensity of the Caracal was positively influenced by rugged terrain, open natural ecosystems, proximity to water, and distance from human settlements. Based on published estimates for home range size and the extent of suitable habitat predicted by the MaxEnt model, Kailadevi can potentially support 8 (4–24) male and 23 (14–55) female Caracal home ranges, followed by Ranthambhore with 4 (2–11) male and 10 (6–24) female home ranges, and Dholpur with 3 (2–8) male and 7 (5–17) female home ranges. In total, the Ranthambhore-Kailadevi-Dholpur landscape can potentially harbour 55 (33–139) Caracal home ranges, providing a preliminary indication of the potential population supported by the currently available suitable habitat. Our findings highlight the importance of conserving the open natural ecosystems, especially ravines, which provide refuge for the Caracal in this human-dominated landscape. Conservation strategies should prioritise to safeguard the potential Caracal habitats and maintain connectivity between these habitats to secure its long-term persistence.