Why in the News?
The elusive Asiatic Caracal (Caracal caracal schmitzi) has been rediscovered at Ramgarh, Jaisalmer, reaffirming its survival in the Thar Desert after years of uncertainty.
About Asiatic Caracal:
- Scientific Name: Caracal caracal schmitzi, the Asiatic subspecies of the globally distributed caracal species.
- Distribution: Native to Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, Pakistan, and historically across northwestern and central India, now restricted mainly to Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- Indian Population: Fewer than 50 individuals survive in India, with small, fragmented groups in the Thar Desert, Ranthambhore landscape, and Kutch region.
- Habitat: Prefers semi deserts, savannahs, scrublands, steppes, dry forests, and open arid terrains; uses grassland scrub mosaics for hunting and denning.
- Ecology: A shy nocturnal mesopredator feeding on rodents, hares, birds, and occasionally small ungulates; known for vertical leaps up to 3 metres to strike flying prey.
- Legal Protection: Listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and categorised as Least Concern globally but critically sparse within India.
- Threats: Habitat loss from land conversion, solar parks, linear infrastructure, hunting, and misclassification of grasslands as wastelands reducing viable habitat.
- Conservation Status in India: Included in the 2021 Species Recovery Plan by National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and MoEFCC, with urgent need for grassland restoration, monitoring, and community based protection.
| [UPSC 2019] Question: Consider the following statements:
1. Asiatic lion is naturally found In India only. 2. Double-humped camel is naturally found in India only. 3. One-horned rhinoceros is naturally found in India only. Which of the statements given above is / are correct? Options: (a) 1 only* (b) 2 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 |
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