Caracal caracal(Carnivora: Felidae)

Abstract

Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776) is a felid commonly called the caracal. It is a slender, medium-sized cat (5.8–22 kg) characterized by a short tail and long ear tufts. C. caracal has a wide distribution and is found throughout Africa, north to the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, central and southwest Asia into India; its habitat includes arid woodlands, savanna, scrublands, hilly steppes, and arid mountainous regions. It is globally listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources as “Least Concern” despite population trends unknown across most of its geographic distribution. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora lists Asian populations under Appendix I and African populations under Appendix II.

The influence of gene flow on population viability in an isolated urban caracal population

“…We sampled caracals from four populations: the Cape Peninsula (CP; n = 9), the Greater Cape Town region (GCT; n = 7), the Central Karoo (CK; n = 10), and Namaqualand (NMQ; n = 5; Figure 1). We selected these individuals to focus sampling on the Cape Peninsula and Greater Cape Town populations, while also including non-urban populations that are thought to be large and are less fragmented (Avenant et al, 2016;Tensen et al, 2018Tensen et al, , 2019Veals et al, 2020) DNA was extracted from samples using Qiagen Blood and Tissue kits. Library preparation and sequencing of 150 bp paired-end reads was completed at the Vincent J. Coates Genomics Sequencing Laboratory at University of California, Berkeley and MedGenome using an Illumina NovaSeq (Table S1).…”

“…In this study, we employ a genomic resequencing dataset and computational simulation modelling to examine the relationship between gene flow and population viability in an urban caracal ( Caracal caracal ) population in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. Caracals are elusive medium‐sized felids with a large geographic range that encompasses much of Africa, extending into the Middle East and South Asia, though are most abundant in South Africa (Avenant et al., 2016; Veals et al., 2020). Caracals are present in the Cape Peninsula of Cape Town – the site of Table Mountain National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its rich biodiversity – where they have become isolated by the rapid growth of the city over the past several decades (Figure 1; Rebelo et al., 2011; Turok & Borel‐Saladin, 2014).…”

“…Caracals are elusive medium-sized felids with a large geographic range that encompasses much of Africa, extending into the Middle East and South Asia, though are most abundant in South Africa (Avenant et al, 2016;Veals et al, 2020). Caracals are present in the Cape Peninsula of Cape Town -the site of Table Mountain National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its rich biodiversity -where they have become isolated by the rapid growth of the city over the past several decades (Figure 1; Rebelo et al, 2011;Turok & Borel-Saladin, 2014).…”

The influence of gene flow on population viability in an isolated urban caracal population

“…1). We selected these individuals to focus sampling on the Cape Peninsula and Greater Cape Town populations, while also including non-urban populations that are thought to be large and are less fragmented (Avenant et al, 2016;Veals et al, 2020) as a point of comparison. Caracals in CP were primarily sampled within Table Mountain National Park (TMNP), which encompasses approximately 320 km 2 of fragmented, natural habitat isolated by approximately 800 km 2 of City of Cape Town (CoCT) urban matrix.…”

“…In this study, we employ a genomic resequencing dataset and computational simulation modelling to examine the relationship between gene flow and population viability in an urban caracal (Caracal caracal) population in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. Caracals are elusive medium-sized felids with a large geographic range that encompasses much of Africa, extending into the Middle East and South Asia, though are most abundant in South Africa (Avenant et al, 2016;Veals, Burnett, Morandini, Drouilly, & Koprowski, 2020). Caracals are present the Cape Peninsula of Cape Town -the site of Table Mountain National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its rich biodiversity -where they have become isolated by the rapid growth of the city over the past several decades (Fig.…”