A rare caracal got into the camera trap of the Aralkum National Nature Park

Environment 12 Jun 2026, 16:49 354

A caracal got into a camera trap installed on the territory of the Aralkum National Nature Park. The caracal is a rare species with a mosaic habitat and is under threat of extinction. It is listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan and is included in Annex I of the CITES Convention.

The species is distributed on the Ustyurt plateau, in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya, and is also found in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, northern Iran, and Afghanistan. The caracal lives in desert and semi-desert areas, including sandy massifs, gypsum plains and tugai forests.

In summer, the animal is mostly nocturnal, and in other seasons it can hunt during the day. Its diet includes hares, rodents, birds, reptiles and other small animals, sometimes carrion. The life span of a caracal can reach 19 years.

For reference: Aralkum National Nature Park was established in 2022 in Muynak district of Karakalpakstan. Its territory is home to 25 species of animals, of which 4 are included in the Red Book of Uzbekistan.The Park is under the jurisdiction of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of Uzbekistan.