Jaipur: To protect the rare caracal in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, the forest department of the state is set to launch a 'Goat Bank.' The project aims to prevent “revenge killings” of caracals. It is proposed that in case a caracal preys on a goat of any villager, the department will bypass lengthy compensation paperwork and hand over a new goat directly from the Goat Bank to the concerned.
In fact, this initiative is a follow-up to an incident that occurred in March this year when villagers burned a caracal to death, suspecting it of preying on their 50 goats.
The charred remains of the caracal were discovered in the border region of Jaisalmer. The villagers had also circulated a video of the incident.
An investigation revealed that the caracal had killed approximately 50 goats. Enraged with the incident, the villagers tracked the paw prints, cornered the caracal, and killed it. Two persons were arrested by the forest department in connection with this killing of a caracal.Shubham Kumar, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Jaisalmer, said, “Our objective is to minimize the conflict between villagers and caracals, as their presence in this region is a matter of pride for our ecosystem. We want to ensure that villagers do not view them as enemies. The caracal is a shy yet extremely agile predator. When a poor livestock owner loses their cattle, it inflicts a significant financial blow. The concept of the 'Goat Bank' was conceived precisely to resolve this animosity. When villagers realize that compensation for their losses will be provided immediately, they will refrain from attacking wildlife.”
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DFO said that field surveys have conclusively established that there is a significant presence of caracals in the India-Pakistan border region. Both the Central and state governments are committed to conserving this rare cat, which is on the verge of extinction. The goat bank project is being developed in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which will map the areas of conflict between villagers and the caracals.There are also plans to establish a research center in Sawai Madhopur dedicated to the conservation of the caracal.
