Jaisalmer: The forest dept Sunday detained one person and initiated a high-level investigation after video of carcass of a caracal, a Schedule 1 protected species that is endangered and among the rarest wild cats in India, found in the Bichhiya Chhor area of the border Shahgarh region in Jaisalmer district.The clip, shared widely on social media, triggered anger among local residents and wildlife enthusiasts. Officials said that after receiving information about the video, forest dept teams were dispatched Sunday to the reported location to recover the carcass and verify details. Jodhpur chief conservator of forests Anoop K R said preliminary information indicated the incident occurred in the Bichhiya Chhor area near Shahgarh in Jaisalmer district, which falls under the Sam Territorial Range. “The matter was being examined by the Sam ranger. It was suspected the hunting may have been carried out by cattle herders out of ignorance as awareness about the caracal and its conservation status remains limited in some areas, he said.Deputy conservator of forests Kumar Shubham said the dept received the viral video Saturday showing people with a caracal carcass. Teams were immediately sent to the spot, but the carcass had not been recovered so far. The incident comes at a time when the forest dept has been stepping up monitoring of the species. On Jan 25, in the Ghotaru area of Jaisalmer, a forest team fitted the country’s first radio collar on a caracal. Officials said movement data from the collared animal continued to be received. The animal reportedly crossed the international border into Pakistan after jumping the fence and later returned to Indian territory, and monitoring remains in place.Wildlife biologist Sumit Dookia, associate professor at GGS Indraprastha University and honorary scientific advisor with the ERDS Foundation, said the caracal population in Jaisalmer may be among the last remaining in India. “Sightings and signs have been reported in the Ramgarh Shahgarh landscape, an arid grassland habitat also home to Indian gazelle. Death of an adult caracal is alarming, especially if conflict with shepherds is increasing. Threats include habitat loss and fragmentation, expansion of wind and solar projects, retaliatory killing, and human disturbance. With an estimated 50 to 60 caracals possibly left in India, protecting Jaisalmer desert grasslands is critical for the species survival,” he said.
