Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 14 December 2020 | 12(16): 17194–17202
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5856.12.16.17194-17202
#5856 | Received 11 March 2020 | Final
received 07 July 2020 | Finally accepted 28 October 2020
Rediscovery of Caracal Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in Abu Dhabi
Emirate, UAE
Robert Gubiani
1, Rashed Al Zaabi 2, Justin Chuven 3 &
Pritpal Soorae 4
1–4 Terrestrial & Marine
Biodiversity Sector, Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, PO Box 45553, Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates.
1 robert.gubiani@ead.gov.ae
(corresponding author), 2 rashed.alzaabi@ead.gov.ae, 3
justin.chuven@ead.gov.ae, 4 psoorae@ead.gov.ae
Editor: Angie Appel, Wild Cat Network,
Bad Marienberg, Germany. Date
of publication: 14 December 2020 (online & print)
Citation: Gubiani,
R., R.A. Zaabi, J. Chuven & P. Soorae (2020). Rediscovery
of Caracal Caracal caracal
(Schreber, 1776) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in
Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE. Journal of
Threatened Taxa 12(16): 17194–17202. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5856.12.16.17194-17202
Copyright: © Gubiani
et al. 2020. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Author details: Robert Gubiani currently works within the mammals section of the Wildlife Assessment
& Monitoring unit at Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi contributing to
multiple threatened species management programs. Robert has worked in academia,
the private sector as well as multiple government entities throughout his 15
year career. As well as holding an MSc Robert is a member of the IUCN Small
Mammal and Rodent Species; Cormorant; and Cat Species Specialist Groups and is
a Scientific and Research Grant Reviewer for the National Geographic
Society. Rashed Alzaabi is heading the Mammals
section within the Wildlife Assessment and Monitoring Unit. He has been
working in the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi for the past 9 years and doing
different mammals projects, from capturing small mammals to camera trap
programs, with education in Wildlife Management, Msc. Justin Chuven is currently the Unit-head of the Ex-situ
Conservation program for the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi where he manages
multiple endangered species conservation breeding and reintroduction programs,
the most ambitious being the reintroduction of Scimitar-horned Oryx and Addax
into their native habitat. After
obtaining his MSc. in Biology at California State University he has gone on to
hold positions at several AZA and international zoological
institutions.
Pritpal Soorae is currently Unit Head of the Wildlife
Assessment & Monitoring unit of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, UAE. This
unit is responsible for biodiversity monitoring activities in Abu Dhabi
emirate. Other areas of work include working with alien species of the UAE,
herpetology and coordinating the activities of the UAE CITES Scientific
Authority. He is also program Officer of the IUCN Conservation Translocation
Specialist Group for over 25 years.
Author contribution: Robert Gubiani—field
sampling and camera deployment, data collection, data analysis, image
preparation, manuscript drafting.
Rashed Al Zaabi—supervision, manuscript
drafting.
Justin Chuven—field
sampling, data collection, image preparation, manuscript drafting.
Pritpal Soorae—supervision, manuscript drafting.
Acknowledgements: The authors wish to thank Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, EAD and all parties involved for their assistance
and support.
Abstract: We present evidence confirming
the presence of Caracal Caracal caracal in Abu Dhabi Emirate. Camera trap deployment into areas likely to
harbour elusive species revealed the presence of at least one male individual
with 37 records in 683 camera trap days over a seven-month period. These records represent the first confirmed
presence of Caracal in Abu Dhabi Emirate since 1965. Both diurnal and nocturnal records
highlighted varied activity patterns of this generally elusive species. Foraging activity occurred primarily during
low luminosity levels associated with the new moon. The evidence obtained proves the presence of
Arabian Caracal in a location long suspected of providing suitable habitat for
this species.
Keywords: Camera trap, Jabal
Hafit, moon phase, small wild cat, United Arab
Emirates.
introduction
Globally, the Caracal Caracal caracal is
classified as Least Concern (Avgan et al. 2016). Given the lack of recent records in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), however, it is considered ‘Extinct in the Wild’ in
the recent Abu Dhabi Red List Assessment (unpublished 2020) and Critically
Endangered in the UAE (Mallon et al. 2019).
While the Caracal is listed as Least Concern in the Arabian Peninsula
(Mallon 2011; Mallon & Budd 2011), it is listed as Endangered in Jordan
(Amr 2000) and Oman (Fisher 1999), and as Critically Endangered in Pakistan
(Sheikh & Molur 2004), and Morocco (Cuzin 2003). It
already vanished in Kuwait (Cowan 2013), parts of Turkmenistan (Lukarevsky 2001) and is thought to be on the verge of
extinction in many parts of northern Africa (Cuzin
2003); however, while the Caracal shows
signs of population declines and range loss in parts of Asia and northern
Africa, it is common and stable in central and southern Africa (Thorn et al.
2011). Although its global range is
extensive, the population within the Arabian peninsula is difficult to
determine and thought to be declining (Cunningham 2008; Mallon & Budd
2011). Available information about its
distribution in the Arabian peninsula is based on opportunistic sightings (Thalen 1975; Gasperetti et al.
1985; Harrison & Bates 1991). It is
considered rare in the UAE (Gasperetti et al. 1985;
Harrison & Bates 1991; Mallon & Budd 2011). Oman may be an exception as some population
expansion was observed in areas devoid of Leopard Panthera
pardus (Spalton et al.
2014). This is concerning as the local
population is considered to be a distinct subspecies, Caracal caracal schmitzi (Kitchener
et al. 2017).
In Arabia, the Caracal has an
average body length of 1–1.2 m and a weight of 8–15 kg (Harrison & Bates
1991). Some aspects of its ecology were
studied in Israel (Weisbein & Mendelssohn 1990),
southern Africa (Avenant & Nel
1998; Avenant & Nel
2002a; Bothma et al. 2004; Marker & Dickman
2005), Turkey (Giannatos et al. 2006; Ilemin & Gürkan 2010), and
India (Mukherjee et al. 2004; Singh et al. 2014). It is predominantly nocturnal, solitary and
extremely secretive making field observations rare (Van Heezik
& Seddon 1998). The paucity of
information on this species limits active conservation measures until surveys
are conducted to find out where it is present and in which density (Schaller
1976).
In the 1990s, the diet of a radio-collared
individual was studied in Saudi Arabia that was observed while scavenging on
ungulate and raptor carcasses (Van Heezik &
Seddon 1998). Scat analysis showed a
high density of rodent bones consisting mainly of Libyan Jird
Meriones libycus
(Van Heezik & Seddon 1998). Stuart & Stuart (2002) reported Caracal
scat found in northern Oman and adjacent parts of the UAE that contained
remains of ungulates, bird feathers and a spider (Stuart & Stuart 2002). It is considered to be diverse in its
selection of prey that is up to 2 to 2.5 times its own size (Van Heezik & Seddon 1998; Avenant
& Nel 1998; Sunquist
& Sunquist 2002; Avenant
& Nel 2002a; Livingston 2009). It preys on small domestic livestock to
varying degrees (Stuart 1982; Stuart & Hickman 1991; Bothma
et al. 2004; Melville & Bothma 2006), but this
has yet to be reported as a major occurrence in the middle-east region.
Historically, the Caracal has not
been reported to occur far into the hyper-arid regions such as those present in
the Empty Quarter; instead, it prefers mountain ranges and hilly steppe (Van Heezik & Seddon 1998).
Within the UAE, most sightings have historically occurred in the
mountainous northern emirates (Gasperetti et al.
1985; Mallon & Budd 2011), although sightings were infrequently reported in
sandy desert areas between Dubai and Al Ain (Harrison & Bates 1991; Stuart
& Stuart 2007). The last known
individual in the United Arab Emirates was photographed in September 1983 in Al
Rams located in the north (Gasperetti et al. 1985). Previous surveys on Jabal
Hafit failed to identify the presence of any
individuals, however, it was suspected that the Caracal might have occurred in
the area, albeit in very low numbers (Harrison & Bates 1991). As with most carnivore species in the region,
persecution by farmers (Harrison & Bates 1991) and the general public
continues to put additional pressure on existing populations that are likely to
be naturally already low in density (Melville & Bothma
2006).
Study
area
Our study area of 27km2
was located in Jabal Hafit
National Park. This protected area in
eastern UAE was established in 2017 to conserve the biodiversity of Jabal Hafit (Mubarak 2018)
(Figure 1). Jabal
Hafit is a 25km long and 5km wide foothill of the Al
Hajar Mountains that stretch from the eastern UAE through northern Oman (Hansman & Ring 2018).
The city of Al Ain is located northeast of Jabal
Hafit; in the east, the 30km wide Al Jawwa plain separates it from Al Hajar Mountains; in the
south, it terminates in Oman (Zaineldeen & Fowler
2014). The permanently fenced border
between the UAE and Oman divides Jabal Hafit into two portions, the smaller of which is located
within UAE (S. Tubati pers. comm. 01 October 2020). Jabal Hafit National Park is surrounded by residential and
industrial areas in the west and north and farmland in the east, which
transitions into a residential and mixed used landscape (R. Gubiani
pers. obs. 2020). The main thoroughfare
to the top of Jabal Hafit
National Park is a sealed road providing access to a hotel, viewing area and
private residences all extending off this main road.
Home range of this individual is
extremely difficult to presume.
Elsewhere in Caracal range countries, home ranges varied from 418km2
(Norton & Lawson 1985) to 15.2km2 (Bothma
et al. 1997), 26.9km2 (Avenant & Nel 1998), and 308.4 km2 in the southern
Kalahari (Bothma & LeRiche
1994) to 1,116km2 in northern Saudi Arabia (Van Heezik
& Seddon 1998). Giannatos
et al. (2006) estimated Caracal density to be 1.73 individuals per 100km2
in southwestern Turkey, assumingly a result of limited prey and development
activities in the surroundings of the survey area. The limited size of suitable habitat in Jabal Hafit National Park
increases the likelihood that the Caracal may be traversing the border fence
and utilising the rest of the mountain within Oman, which is significantly
larger and relatively undeveloped in comparison.
The climate in the region is
classified as bi-seasonal Mediterranean type characterised by limited rainfall
and high temperatures (Aspinall & Hellyer 2004). Winter temperatures drop to 4°C at night and
soar to 49°C by day in the peak summer season in July (National Center of Meteorology 2020). Precipitation varies on an annual basis with
heavy downpours during the peak winter season with a mean of 10.7mm in January
and close to no rainfall in summer with a mean of 0.6mm (National Center of Meteorology 2020).
Due to Jabal
Hafit’s elevation of 1,240m and unique climatic
conditions, it hosts about 160 of the roughly 390 floral species currently
known to occur within Abu Dhabi Emirate (Aspinall & Hellyer 2004). Predatory species recorded historically on Jabal Hafit include Blanford’s Fox Vulpes cana,
African Wildcat Felis lybica
(Harrison & Bates 1991), Striped Hyaena Hyaena
hyaena, Arabian Wolf Canis
lupus arabs (Aspinall & Hellyer 2004) and
Leopard (Edmonds et al. 2006).
Industrial development and urban expansion has caused large tracts of
natural habitat to be lost or modified that is deemed no longer suitable for a number
of endemic species (Al Dhaheri et al. 2018).
Material
and Methods
We used five Bushnell Trophycam HD camera traps that were active for 24 hours per
day. We mounted them either on camera
tripods, metal stakes or on trees in a north or south orientation to eliminate
misfires due to direct exposure to sunlight.
We placed them in funnel points or areas with high resource
density. In areas lacking obvious funnel
points, we placed them in patches of vegetation or on elevated points. Such locations have in the past shown to be
more likely to carry scent from baiting products, and to be used for scent
marking by carnivores. Camera traps were
placed in five locations. The distance
between locations varied from 600m to 1.26km.
Batteries were changed every
three months, however misfires due to wind or non-target species such as humans
resulted in some periods of camera inaction.
Only periods when photographs were recorded were included in this
analysis.
In order to increase the
likelihood of recording wildlife, bait was placed approximately one metre
directly in front of the deployed camera trap and replenished every three
months. Although many types of
artificial lures are available internationally, very few dedicated lure
products are available locally.
Therefore, we used cat food with chicken flavour as it had proven successful
with similar trapping programmes aimed at Sand Cat Felis
margarita and Rüppell’s Fox Vulpes rueppellii.
Additionally, bait was used in areas that were exposed to increase the
visual stimulus as well as enhancing scent dispersal into lower lying areas
within the survey area.
Activity of recorded wildlife was determined
by the time stamp on each obtained photograph.
The influence of moon phase on foraging activity was determined by the
division of lunar cycle into ten moon exposure increments namely phase 1
(0%–10%), phase 2 (10.1%–20%), phase 3 (20.1%–30%), phase 4 (40.1%–50%) and so
forth. The percentage of lunar presence
was determined using the time stamp recorded by the camera trap and then
determined by using the database of the Moonpage
(2020) website. It should be noted that
moon phase does not take cloud cover into consideration as no dedicated weather
station currently exists on Jabal Hafit.
Results
During our study, we obtained 37
photographs of Caracal after a survey effort of 683 camera trap days, or one
photograph of a Caracal per 18.45 camera trap days. Of the five camera traps deployed, four
recorded a Caracal. Diurnal records were
also obtained by camera traps located 300m south and 250m north from the
initial location. Our camera traps also
recorded Nubian Ibex Capra nubiana, Arabian Tahr Arabitragus jayakari, Red Fox Vulpes vulpes,
feral Domestic Cat Felis catus, feral Domestic Goat Capra hircus,
Rock Hyrax Procavia capensis,
Egyptian Spiny Mouse Acomys cahirinus and Rattus. Avifauna species recorded included Eurasian
Collared Dove Steptopelia decaocto, Rock Dove Columba livia,
Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis,
Grey Francolin Francolinus pondicerianus, Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa
epops, and Arabian Partridge Alectoris
melanocephala.
A preference for early moon
phases was clearly
evident with 62% (n=23) of
records during phase 1 and
11% (n=4) occurring in phase 2,
constituting 63% of all
records obtained (Figure 3).
Record totals of 3, 2, and 2
were obtained in phases 5, 3, and
6 whereas only single
records occurred in phases 7, 9,
and 10. No records were
obtained during moon exposure
phase 30.1%–40% and
70.1%–80 %. Regression analysis
indicated that these
results were not statistically
significant.
Discussion
Our record of a Caracal in Jabal Hafit National Park
represents the first confirmed record of this species in the United Arab
Emirate since 1983. Gasperetti
et al. (1985) reported a photograph taken in the vicinity of Al Rams in the
Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in September 1983, but we did not find any other
authenticated record in the country.
Stuart & Stuart (2007) reported one scat sample found between the
cities of Ras Al Khaimah and Dibbah in June 1995,
which they attributed to Caracal, but without indicating their method of
identifying scat to a species.
We obtained the first record on 7
July 2018 (Image 1). A short video
confirmed its presence on 3 January and 9 January 2019 (Image 2). A footprint (Image 3) was also identified as
well as additional diurnal photographs (Image 4) with a final record on 25
February 2019. Our repeated records of a
Caracal over nine months indicate that it may be resident in Jabal Hafit National Park. All our camera trap photographs show a
solitary individual of the same size.
We, therefore, assume that the same individual was repeatedly
recorded. Definitive identification of
the number of individuals is difficult as we did not identify any scars, marks
or deformities.
Activity of the recorded
individual/s showed a preference for nocturnal activity with 29 of 37 records
(78%) obtained between 18.01 and 06.00 h (Figure 2). The remaining records were obtained during
the day at 06.01–12.00 h (n=6) and in the afternoon at 12.01–18.00 h
(n=2). Further analysis of activity in
hourly time slots demonstrated that the highest activity periods occurred at
18.00–23.00 h with peak record acquisition between 18.00–19.00 h (n=7) (Figure
2). No record was obtained in the midday
to early evening period.
Peak activity records occurred
between 18.00 and 23.00 h, which differs greatly from results of studies
conducted by Singh et al. (2014) who noted peak activity at 01.00–04.00 h with
early night activity only constituting less than 5%. Similarly, camera trapping surveys in Turkey
showed that Caracal were active foremost between 06.00 and 08.00 h (Ilemin & Gürkan 2010) with a
slight increase at dusk. Temperature is
known to influence Caracal foraging behaviour, which was seen to align with
increased activity from primary food sources (Hassan-Beigi
2015). Activity records during our study
do not appear to show any influence by temperature or activity of prey
species. The majority of activity
periods differs from peak activity of Arabian Partridge and Rock Hyrax. Primary activity of these species decreases
during the increased hunting period of the Caracal.
Moon phase and lunar activity of
carnivores is well-studied and
documented (Harmsen et al. 2011; Penteriani
et al. 2011, 2013; Huck et al. 2016; Pratas-Santiago
et al. 2017). Previous studies
highlighted that Caracal activity pattern can be influenced greatly by the
activity pattern of its prey (Nowell & Jackson 1996; Sunquist
& Sunquist 2002; Singh et al. 2014; Hassan-Beigi 2015). This
appears not to be the case with this individual/s as our records indicate
little overlap with prey activity during the same periods. All records of Blanford’s
Fox (n=4) and Egyptian Spiny Mouse (n=10) in our study area occurred from moon
phase 3 onwards. Caracal are known to
prey on smaller carnivores (Livingston 2009), which could provide some
explanation as to why Blanford’s Fox avoided peak
Caracal hunting periods. Further data,
however, will be needed to assess activity patterns and temporal avoidance
between the two predators. Rodents
constitute large parts of the Caracal’s diet (Ghoddousi
et al. 2009; Livingston 2009), but the moon phase behaviour of Egyptian Spiny
Mouse cannot be definitively linked to the arrival of a new meso-predator
in the landscape. Although this limited
data does not definitively prove increased foraging activities as a result of
the presence of the Caracal, it does provide some insight into preferred
activity periods of smaller mammals present on Jabal Hafit based on moon phase and warrants further
investigation.
Currently, the information about
dietary needs of many species of small wild cats is scarce, especially Caracal
(Livingston 2009). The Caracal is
considered to be a generalist predator often taking advantage of localised
resources (Van Heezik & Seddon 1998; Avenant & Nel 2002a; Moqanaki et al. 2016).
The Caracal is able to kill prey weighing 2–3 times its own size such as
gazelles Gazella (Moqanaki
et al. 2016). The reduction of these
ungulates as a result of hunting and land degradation may be the reason for the
Caracal to prey occasionally on small domestic livestock and poultry (Stuart
& Stuart 2007; Zafar-ul et al. 2018). Predation on escaped livestock was recorded
in South Africa, but is considered to be seasonal in nature and limited in
extent (Avenant & Nel
2002a). Remains of domestic goat and
sheep were also found in Caracal scat in Oman and northern UAE (Stuart &
Stuart 2007). On Jabal
Hafit, Arabian Tahr is
present in small numbers, estimated at less than 15 individuals (J. Chuven pers. comm. 12 December 2019). Whether they constitute prey for the Caracal
in Jabal Hafit remains
unknown. We observed four feral goats,
which escaped from local farms, but we did not come across any incidence that
the Caracal preyed on livestock.
The Caracal in Jabal Hafit was recorded in areas
where Rock Hyrax and Egyptian Spiny Mouse were observed. Rodents such as Libyan Jird
and Egyptian Spiny Mouse were found in Caracal scat in Iran (Ghoddousi et al. 2009).
Van Heezik & Seddon (1998) noted that a
collared individual selected areas with high rodent abundance during the
day. Rodents are deemed to be an
important part of the Caracal diet particularly in arid environments (Avenant & Nel 2002b;
Mukherjee et al. 2004; Seddon et al. 2007; Farhadinia
et al. 2007; Ghoddousi et al. 2009; Livingston
2009). Although Arabian Jird Meriones arimalius and Cheesman’s
Gerbil Gerbillus cheesmani
were recorded in the vicinity of Jabal Hafit, only Egyptian Spiny Mouse and Rattus are
confirmed to occur on the mountain (Cunningham 2008). The recent release of approximately 10,000
Arabian Partridge is likely to be a more easily accessible food source for the
recorded Caracal. Furthermore, the high
level of development around and on Jabal Hafit will likely result in increased levels of House Mouse
Mus musculus and Rattus, which could constitute a prey base for
the Caracal. Given the dramatic increase
in prey sources within the Abu Dhabi portion of Jabal
Hafit, this raises the possibility of predators
moving back and forth across the border with Oman to take advantage of this
increase in prey abundance. Van Heezik & Seddon (1998) proposed that the Caracal might
have a broader diet and larger home range than expected due to low prey
abundance. Home range size of the Caracal in Saudi Arabia reduced significantly
during periods of increased biomass (Van Heezik &
Seddon 1998).
The use of camera trapping rates
as an index for abundance has been widely debated (Rovero
& Marshall 2009; De Bonde et al. 2010; Hobbs
& Brehme 2017), however, the probability of
encounters between camera traps and individuals would increase if abundance of
target individuals increases (Rovero & Marshall
2009). Limited access to protected areas
and the scarcity of confirmed records make it difficult to identify further
potential areas harbouring this species.
In view of the limited knowledge and precarious state of the Caracal
within parts of the Arabian Peninsula, it is important that any new
information, particularly sightings and observed behaviour is reported. The identification of the Caracal in Abu
Dhabi Emirate is important in terms of species abundance as it highlights the
possibility of elusive and rare species occurring in protected areas within the
Emirate. The preservation of Jabal Hafit National Park and its
natural habitat is of paramount importance.
Continued monitoring of the behaviour and movement of the Caracal in
this area is essential to devise conservation measures and determine corridors
that connect Jabal Hafit
National Park with other areas suitable for the Caracal in the UAE.
For
figures & images - - click here
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