Sighting of caracal, an elusive wild cat, has been recorded at the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district, where cheetahs were shifted recently as part of the expansion of the cheetah reintroduction programme.

Caracal, locally known as "syahghosh", was seen in a camera trap at the sanctuary, a forest official said on Friday.

"It is a shy and fast running and generally nocturnal carnivorous animal mainly found in dry, bushy, rocky and open grassy areas. In India, this species has now been categorised as endangered, and its presence is considered very rare," the forest authorities said in a statement.

According to a forest officer at the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, the presence of an adult male caracal was recorded on a camera trap installed in the Mandsaur forest division, and the sighting is important from the point of view of biodiversity.

"It is also a proof of our commitment towards the quality and conservation of protected habitats in the sanctuary," the official said.

The presence of caracal shows that the dry and semi-arid ecosystem of Gandhi Sagar is still intact, and the systems are still so rich and balanced that they can provide shelter to this rare species like "syahghosh".

After many years, the presence of a caracal has been confirmed in a protected area in Madhya Pradesh, which is a matter of pride for the state, the official said.

"This discovery is not only important for wildlife research but is also proof of the success of our conservation efforts. For this achievement, due to the special efforts of the officers and employees of the forest department and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, diverse ecology has been preserved, due to which today this sanctuary has become a safe haven for rare species," the official said.

In April this year, two South African cheetahs — Prabhash and Pavak — were released at Basigaon Khemla in the sanctuary.

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