[Animals] This is the life of the caracal, the most urban wild cat in South Africa

[Noticias ALEJANDRO]

 

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA- The caracal sat on the trail in front of us, apparently calm, as he watched our group of three hikers climb the side of the lower mountain on a warm October afternoon.

Cape Town street lights flickered below us, as the rugged face of Table Mountain rose to one side. We stood still, waiting for the animal to retreat. Instead, he trotted past us, the pool of light from our lamps illuminating his burnt orange fur, his round, pale eyes, and his distinctive large, pointed ears topped by long black locks. He stopped to take a brief look back and the cat disappeared into the bushes.

(Related: Cats Domesticated Themselves, New DNA Evidence Suggests.)

We knew immediately that it was Hermes, a human-habituated caracal who is often seen by hikers and runners in and around the 250-square-kilometer Table Mountain National Park, which is located within the limits of this South African capital. The caracal, believed to be between four and five years old, has become something of a poster for wildlife conservation in Cape Town, a city on the Cape Peninsula with a po[CENSORED]tion of more than 1.1 million. inhabitants in 1970 to 4.7 million today. The coastal metropolis, with its mountain in the center of the city, is home to a plethora of urban wildlife, from baboons to snakes and penguins.

The caracals, shy and normally nocturnal cats found in various environments in Africa and Asia, are not in danger of extinction. But the Cape Town caracals stand out in another sense: they are the area's quintessential predator, as leopards were hunted (until they disappeared from the Cape Peninsula) at the beginning of the 20th century. The caracals, native to the peninsula, have only recently entered more urban areas, probably attracted by easy-to-catch prey such as vlei rats from southern Africa and guinea fowl, says Gabriella Leighton, a researcher at the University of Ciudad del Cabo who has directed a recent study on the behavior of caracals. Scientists estimate that there are probably about 60 caracals on the Cape Peninsula.

"They are opportunistic predators: they go for the easy thing," says Leighton.

 

 

As the striking, 1.5-foot-tall felines have become accustomed to people, they’ve been spotted throughout the city’s natural areas, from heavily trafficked hiking trails to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden to po[CENSORED]r Clifton Beach at sunset.

Many of the cats—especially those in the northern, more developed part of Table Mountain (where I encountered Hermes)— prefer to hunt around the urban edge, which includes suburbs, roads, and vineyards. This is risky, however, since such areas pose threats to the animals, particularly getting hit by cars—the leading cause of death for Cape Town caracal. The cats face other pressures, to a lesser extent, from poisons, dog attacks, and snares, says Laurel Serieys, a wildlife biologist at the conservation organization Panthera, who founded the University of Cape Town’s Urban Caracal Project in 2014. A lack of genetic diversity, due to the urban development hemming the animal in, is also a major threat for the caracal’s future in the city, she says.

Even so, caracals “can adapt to human activity in ways that were not expected,” says Serieys, such as adjusting their behavior to avoid being seen by people in busy areas. “That was a very cool surprise.”

Research also shows that caracals from the less developed southern section of the peninsula tend to avoid urban fringes, showing how their behavior changes in different environments.

So far, most Capetonians have welcomed caracals, embracing citizen scientist roles by reporting caracal sightings (as well as road-killed animals) to the Urban Caracal Project. Though some caracals have killed pet cats, research shows Cape Town’s caracals predominately hunt wild prey.
 Laying the groundwork

Prior to 2014, no one had studied the peninsula’s caracals, Serieys says, in large part because people doubted they were even there. She had to convince South African National Parks to grant her a permit to study a po[CENSORED]tion they didn’t think existed on Table Mountain.

Since then, Serieys and colleagues have learned more about the urban cats’ movements, diet, genetics, and threats. They’ve fitted 26 caracals with GPS collars, conducted necropsies, set up camera traps around the city, and collected photos and videos of caracal sightings from the public. (Read more about how wild animals are hacking life in the city.)

“Just getting on the ground and learning what’s there, and what threats exist to those animals is important,” Serieys says.

So far, their results show that vehicle collisions accounted for more than 70 percent of recorded caracal deaths in Cape Town between 2015 and 2020. Poison is another hazard: Ninety-two percent of dead caracals that Serieys tested had consumed anticoagulant rodenticides, an often fatal exposure.

Caracals get caught in snares set to catch smaller prey items, or fall victim to dogs, which can also pass on diseases such as canine parvovirus, according to Serieys.

To reduce vehicle strikes of caracals, in January, the project team installed reflective caracal signs along seven common roadkill sites in Cape Town, though they’ve yet to collect data to show if it’s working to reduce deaths. The team has also suggested that the city put in speed bumps at frequent caracal-crossing locations.
Protecting endangered penguins

Though domestic animals make up less than four percent of the caracal diet, according to one study, some Cape Town residents are not in favor of the wild cats in their midst.

Many Capetonians have adapted to life with caracals by keeping their pets indoors at night or erecting “catios,” enclosed spaces where cats can safely enjoy the outdoors. Both measures are recommended by the Urban Caracal Project.

 

 

En algunas urbanizaciones ecológicas de Ciudad del Cabo, que se promocionan como respetuosas con el medio ambiente, algunos residentes han exigido la retirada de los caracales de la zona, tanto en reuniones vecinales como a través de las redes sociales.

Según los biólogos del Proyecto Caracal Urbano, capturar un caracal y liberarlo en un nuevo lugar rara vez funciona, en parte porque lo más probable es que otro caracal lo sustituya.

Es exactamente lo que ocurrió en 2016 en Boulders Beach, una pequeña zona perteneciente al Parque Nacional de la Montaña de la Mesa en un suburbio del sur de Ciudad del Cabo, que alberga una colonia de entre 2000 y 3000 pingüinos africanos en peligro de extinción.

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Una hembra de caracal (que había encontrado la colonia de pingüinos) fue capturada y trasladada a una zona cercana. Sin embargo, su cría macho la sustituyó en la colonia, logrando evitar ser capturada durante casi un año, en el que llegó a matar a unos 260 pingüinos. Finalmente, fue trasladado a una reserva natural abierta cercana en la bahía, pero a los pocos días abandonó la zona protegida y fue atropellado por un coche.

Afortunadamente, no hay pruebas de que los caracales busquen activamente a los pingüinos, pero cuando se encuentran con una colonia, "es como si un niño se encontrara una tienda [de caramelos]", dice Gregg Oelofse, jefe de gestión medioambiental de la costa de Ciudad del Cabo. La ciudad colabora con los Parques Nacionales de Sudáfrica en cuestiones como la depredación de caracales en Boulders, ya que es un problema que afecta tanto a los terrenos de la ciudad como a los del parque.

Mientras esperaba a Oelofse en el aparcamiento de Boulders, observé a los pingüinos que se paseaban entre los vehículos, aparentemente despreocupados por el tráfico o los humanos. Su falta de instinto para el peligro terrestre -los pingüinos africanos viven principalmente en islas- es una de las razones por las que la colonia de Boulders necesita tanta protección.

Hoy en día, si un caracal irrumpe en la colonia de pingüinos, el protocolo es capturarlo y aplicarle la eutanasia, ya que los pingüinos son la prioridad de conservación. Sin embargo, ese es el peor de los casos, me dice Oelofse, y el objetivo es la prevención.

Para ello, la ciudad ha instalado una valla a prueba de depredadores, rematada con cilindros rodantes para dificultar que los caracales la traspasen. Hasta ahora, se ha demostrado que tiene éxito a la hora de disuadir a estos hábiles saltadores, dice.

Con su teléfono, Oelofse me enseñó fotos de cámaras trampa tomadas a lo largo de la valla: en una, un caracal trota a lo largo de la valla alejándose de la línea de costa, como estaba previsto. En otra, ni siquiera pude ver al felino, bien camuflado, hasta que Oelofse me señaló un par de orejas puntiagudas de color negro que asomaban en el encuadre.

Sin espacio para explorar

Al ser una población aislada, los caracales también se ven amenazados por su restringido acervo genético. Serieys dispone de datos inéditos que demuestran que los cerca de 60 caracales de la península se están reproduciendo de forma endogámica, lo que reduce la salud de la población local y acaba llevándola a la extinción.

Esto se debe a que el terreno que rodea la Montaña de la Mesa se ha urbanizado hasta el punto de que la mayoría de los animales salvajes están restringidos, y ya no pueden dispersarse hacia la montaña o fuera de ella para ampliar sus reservas genéticas.

El último corredor viable desde la Montaña de la Mesa es una estrecha franja alrededor de False Bay, pero también es un lugar potencial para el desarrollo residencial.

"Queremos mantener esos corredores y esos cinturones verdes, pero también tenemos que hacer concesiones para permitir que las comunidades [se desarrollen]", dice Oelofse. Es parte de la lucha constante por "encontrar un buen equilibrio" entre las personas y la fauna.

Para los pocos caracales que llegan a la península desde fuera de la ciudad, reclamar un área de distribución y luego reproducirse será "super difícil" entre los individuos ya establecidos, dice Serieys.

Los caracales de Ciudad del Cabo, dice, "todavía tienen muchos retos por delante".

 

https://www.nationalgeographic.es/animales/2021/11/asi-es-la-vida-del-caracal-el-gato-salvaje-mas-urbano-de-sudafrica