18-month study launched to protect India's caracals

Fewer than 100 caracals are estimated to remain in India, where 95% of the wild cat's former habitat range has been lost. Project Caracal, an 18-month study launched in 2026 by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, the Wildlife Institute of India, the Rajasthan forest department and NGO Watch, will use camera traps across Ranthambore, Dholpur-Karauli, Ramgarh Vishdhari and Mukundra Hills reserves and Bandh Baretha, WII director Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj told PTI.

Written by AI from Hindustan Times — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 24 Sept 2026, 6:28 pm IST

Source

Hindustan Times — India · read the original report ↗

#caracal#wildlife conservation#rajasthan#project caracal#endangered species

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

An 18-month Project Caracal was launched in 2026 by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Wildlife Institute of India, Rajasthan forest department and NGO Watch. — Figure and partner list appear in source; launch year 2026 stated without attribution and should be verified against the publication date.
Fewer than 100 caracals are estimated to remain in India and 95% of the species' former Indian range has been lost. — Figures appear in source graphics with no specific source attribution; source list cites IUCN, Britannica, PTI and Reuters generally.
The study will cover four Rajasthan tiger reserves — Ranthambore, Dholpur-Karauli, Ramgarh Vishdhari and Mukundra Hills — and adjoining areas such as Bandh Baretha. — Attributed to Wildlife Institute of India director Dr Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj speaking to PTI.
The project will strengthen protection and boost biodiversity conservation across the Ranthambore landscape. — Attributed to Manas Singh, deputy conservator of forests at Ranthambore, via the news agency; an expectation, not a verified outcome.
The caracal is listed on the IUCN Red List and can leap 10-12 feet to catch birds. — Stated in source, consistent with cited references (IUCN, Britannica); not independently verified.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

Project Caracal reads as a purely scientific exercise, but politically it hands both the Rajasthan forest department and national research institutions a shared win they can point to. The headline numbers — fewer than 100 animals, 95% of habitat lost — raise pressure on the state machinery, while an 18-month study is a convenient way to say action is underway without yet committing to hard choices. That the work is anchored in four tiger reserves shows the political capital still sits with the existing tiger-centred conservation architecture.

Attaching a low-profile species to the established tiger brand is a low-cost, high-credibility move for a state forest department.
Four partner bodies make it easy to share credit for success, but leave accountability diffuse if the project underdelivers.
The 95% habitat-loss figure eventually points toward questions about land use, mining and infrastructure — the politically sensitive part of this story.
If wildlife corridors are mapped, local representatives may raise concerns about future restrictions on development in those areas.
Outreach to schoolchildren, teachers and communities is the classic route to building social consent for conservation and pre-empting conflict.

What to watch — Watch whether the resulting conservation strategy proposes land-use restrictions, and how the state government and local representatives respond if it does.

The story does not establish the project's budget or funding source, which political leaders or parties are driving it, or the specific causes of the habitat loss — so any read on political motive here is inference, not reporting.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 3 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The caracal is a highly nocturnal wild cat that has largely vanished from India, surviving only in parts of Rajasthan and the Kutch region of Gujarat. With fewer than 100 individuals estimated to remain and 95% of its former Indian habitat range lost, conservation agencies have begun the first dedicated effort to study it. Project Caracal, an 18-month study launched in 2026, brings together the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the Rajasthan forest department and the NGO Watch to build a conservation strategy. The story appears alongside news of a tiny wild cat discovered in Bolivia — the first identification and naming of a new living feline species in more than a century.

Key facts

Fewer than 100 caracals are estimated to remain in India.
95% of the caracal's former habitat range in India has been lost; it is now largely confined to parts of Rajasthan and the Kutch region of Gujarat.
Project Caracal is an 18-month study launched in 2026 by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, the Wildlife Institute of India, the Rajasthan forest department and NGO Watch.
The study will cover four Rajasthan tiger reserves — Ranthambore, Dholpur-Karauli, Ramgarh Vishdhari and Mukundra Hills — plus adjoining areas such as Bandh Baretha, WII director Dr Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj told PTI.
Camera traps will log data on the caracal's presence, movement and habitat; potential wildlife corridors and habitats will be mapped.
Researchers will analyse habitat change impacts and possible competition with other predators such as leopards and tigers.
The caracal is listed on the IUCN Red List; it is a highly nocturnal wild cat.
The caracal can leap 10–12 feet into the air to catch birds, and preys on birds and mammals such as gazelles, hares and peafowl.

Timeline

More than a century ago (last such instance before now)The previous identification and naming of a new living feline species; a tiny wild cat discovered in Bolivia now marks the first such case in over 100 years.
2026Project Caracal, an 18-month study, is launched by SACON, WII, the Rajasthan forest department and NGO Watch.
Over the 18-month project periodCamera trapping, habitat and corridor mapping, predator-competition analysis, and awareness workshops for schoolchildren, teachers and local communities.

Who has a stake

Wildlife Institute of India (WII) — Partner institution; its director Dr Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj is detailing the study's geographic scope across Rajasthan reserves.
Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) — Research partner studying the caracal's ecology, feeding habits, habitat and threats.
Rajasthan forest department — Manages the reserves where the study will run and must translate findings into protection measures.
NGO Watch — Non-governmental partner in the project.
Ranthambore forest administration — Deputy conservator of forests Manas Singh says the project will strengthen species protection and boost biodiversity conservation across the Ranthambore landscape.
Local communities, schoolchildren and teachers — Target of awareness workshops; coexistence with the species depends on their support.
IUCN — Global authority on the status of the natural world; lists the caracal on its Red List.

Why it matters

A species reduced to fewer than 100 individuals with 95% of its Indian range gone can disappear before it is even properly documented, and the caracal has so far remained little known. Project Caracal is the first structured attempt to generate the ecological data needed for a conservation strategy, and it does so inside tiger reserves, testing whether conservation built around a flagship big cat can also protect lesser-known predators.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Project Caracal: 18-month study launched in 2026 by SACON, WII, Rajasthan forest department and NGO Watch.
Study sites: Ranthambore, Dholpur-Karauli, Ramgarh Vishdhari and Mukundra Hills tiger reserves, plus Bandh Baretha.
Caracal in India: fewer than 100 estimated; 95% of former range lost; confined to parts of Rajasthan and Kutch (Gujarat).
The caracal is listed on the IUCN Red List; IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world.
Caracal traits: highly nocturnal; leaps 10–12 feet to catch birds; preys on gazelles, hares and peafowl.
A tiny wild cat discovered in Bolivia is the first new living feline species named in more than a century.

Mains framing

India's caracal illustrates the blind spot in a conservation model organised around charismatic megafauna: while tiger reserves in Rajasthan have received sustained investment, a nocturnal small cat inside the same landscapes has slipped to fewer than 100 individuals with 95% of its former range lost, surviving only in parts of Rajasthan and Kutch. The source attributes the pressure to habitat change and possible competition with larger predators such as leopards and tigers — questions Project Caracal, an 18-month study launched in 2026 by SACON, WII, the Rajasthan forest department and NGO Watch, is designed to answer through camera trapping, habitat and corridor mapping, and study of ecology and feeding habits. The design is instructive: baseline science first, conservation strategy afterwards, combined with awareness workshops for schoolchildren, teachers and local communities, recognising that a low-profile species in a shared landscape needs social legitimacy as much as legal protection. As the Ranthambore deputy conservator of forests notes, the payoff can extend beyond one species to biodiversity conservation across the landscape — provided the findings are converted into corridor protection and habitat safeguards rather than remaining a report.

Key terms

Caracal: A highly nocturnal wild cat listed on the IUCN Red List, able to leap 10–12 feet to catch birds; fewer than 100 survive in India.
Project Caracal: An 18-month study launched in 2026 to document the caracal's ecology, feeding habits, habitat and threats and frame a conservation strategy.
Wildlife Institute of India (WII): Research institution partnering in Project Caracal; headed by director Dr Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj.
Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON): Research body among the lead partners in Project Caracal.
IUCN Red List: Listing maintained by the IUCN, the global authority on the status of the natural world and measures needed to safeguard it; includes the caracal.
Camera trap: Field device used to log an animal's presence, movement and habitat use, the core method of Project Caracal.

Practice questions

Project Caracal seeks to protect a species reduced to fewer than 100 individuals. Examine why small carnivores remain neglected in an Indian conservation framework built around flagship big cats.
Discuss how baseline ecological research, corridor mapping and community awareness can together shape a conservation strategy for a data-deficient species, with reference to the caracal in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
'Loss of 95% of historical range is a warning about landscape change, not just about one species.' Critically analyse in the Indian context.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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