A caracal

Ahmedabad, April 12 (PTI): The endangered caracal, a species of the cat family, has been spotted in the Kutch region after almost 10 years.

A team of forest officials spotted and photographed two of them at the Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary last November, Kutch forest conservator R.L. Meena said.

The caracal looks like a cross between a tiger and a wolf, with tufts at the tip of its long ears. Besides Gujarat’s Kutch region, it is also found in parts of Madhya Pradesh in India.

“This sighting is very good news for wildlife enthusiasts as the caracal has not been spotted and photographed for nearly a decade,” Meena said.

The conservator said the team managed to spot the shy beast after trying to track it for many days. “The reason for such a long time lag is purely its shy nature. It seldom comes out in the day and mostly scouts out for prey at night. Our team had kept vigil for several days and nights before getting this sighting.”

Officials are, however, not sure how many of them are in the forest reserve and say their number could be around 10.

“So far, no census has been conducted on caracals in Gujarat. But with this sighting, we will take steps to protect this species,” Meena said.