The return of the Caracal Caracal caracal: 56 Years of Population Changes in Israel

Ezra Hadad, Jakub Z. Kosicki and Reuven Yosef

Ecological Modelling, 2025, vol. 508, issue C

Abstract: Long-term studies of mesopredator populations are essential for understanding the factors driving their demographic changes and developing evidence-based conservation strategies in dynamic landscapes. Here, we present a 56-year assessment of caracal population trends in Israel. This extended period was chosen to capture long-term trends and to account for potential cyclical patterns in the population dynamics, integrating historical records with statistical modeling to examine temporal and geographical variability in abundance and habitat use. Our results reveal distinct population fluctuations, including periods of increase in the 1970s, a subsequent decline during the 1980s and 1990s, and a marked resurgence over the last two decades. However, regionally focused analyses indicate a significant long-term decline in highly urbanized areas such as Judea, suggesting that local pressures can affect abundance trends over wide spatial domains.

Keywords: Long-term; Population change; Habitat suitability; Ecological modeling; Mesopredator conservation; Middle east wildlife (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:508:y:2025:i:c:s0304380025001826

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111197

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