Research overview: caracal distribution across Africa and Asia

The caracal occupies one of the largest ranges of any small cat, spanning much of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and southwest and central Asia into India. This overview compiles distributional studies describing its preference for dry savanna, scrub, semi-desert, and rocky hill country, while avoiding true sand desert and dense tropical forest. The caracal tolerates a wide range of arid and semi-arid conditions, which underlies its broad but patchy occurrence. Across this expanse it shows regional variation in density and persecution pressure. Mapping where caracals occur and at what abundance is complicated by their secretive habits, so the overview stresses the value of camera-trap atlases and genetic sampling in filling persistent gaps, especially across the Asian portion of the range.