A rare and elusive caracal wild cat was recently spotted in the Cholistan Desert, located in southern Punjab, Pakistan, according to a wildlife official on Tuesday.
Native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the arid regions of Pakistan and northwestern India, the caracal is a medium-sized wild cat. It is known for its muscular build, long legs, short face, distinctive long and pointed ears, relatively short tail, and prominent canine teeth.
Naturally secretive and territorial, the caracal typically lives alone or in pairs, making it notoriously difficult to observe—even for researchers. With impressive speed and agility, it’s capable of hunting prey two to three times its size. In the Cholistan Desert, it primarily preys on the chinkara, or Indian gazelle. This desert region stretches across southern Punjab and into the Greater Thar Desert.
“Over the past month, we’ve had several sightings. Just this morning [Monday], Mujahid Kaleem, Assistant Conservator Wildlife from Rahim Yar Khan, managed to capture the caracal on camera for the very first time,” said Ali Usman, a wildlife ranger in the Bahawalpur region.
Usman noted that the department does not currently have concrete data on the caracal population in Pakistan.
“For a long time, this elusive species hadn’t been seen in the region,” he said. “But thanks to new government support—including equipment, vehicles, and increased staffing—our conservation efforts have improved significantly. We're beginning to see signs of ecological recovery, and the caracal’s return is a strong indicator of that progress.”
Globally, the caracal faces varying levels of threat: it is near extinction in North Africa, critically endangered in Pakistan, endangered in Jordan, but remains relatively stable in Central and Southern Africa.