360° UPSC Mains Analysis

Shahgarh, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India

The area falls under a hyper-arid desert climate zone with extremely low annual rainfall (averaging under 16 cm) and severe temperature fluctuations. Geologically, it is part of the Jaisalmer Basin, featuring Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary formations with low tectonic activity but high risk of desertification and wind erosion.

The region is situated in the northwestern part of India, bordering Pakistan. It is dominated by the vast, sandy terrain of the Thar Desert, characterized by low-lying sand dunes, rocky outcrops, and a lack of perennial rivers, with the international border running along its western edge.

The Jaisalmer Basin is highly significant for hydrocarbon exploration, containing substantial reserves of natural gas and wind energy potential. Agriculture is highly limited due to water scarcity, making pastoralism and tourism key economic activities.

Historically, the caracal (known as 'siya gosh') held a prominent place in medieval India, where it was domesticated and used by Mughal royalty and princely states for coursing and hunting small game, as documented in Abul Fazl's Akbarnama. However, during the colonial era, state-sponsored bounty hunting, extensive clearing of scrub forests for agriculture, and the classification of grasslands as 'wastelands' initiated a severe decline in their population. This historical neglect of semi-arid scrublands laid the groundwork for the species' near-extinction in the Indian subcontinent.

Post-independence, India transitioned from game-hunting traditions to structured conservation, culminating in the enactment of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which placed the caracal under Schedule I to grant it maximum legal protection. In 2008-09, the government launched the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) to protect habitats outside traditional national parks. Recognizing the critical state of the species, the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) formally included the caracal in the Species Recovery Programme in 2021.

The decline of the caracal closely mirrors that of the Asiatic cheetah, which was also extensively used for coursing by Indian royalty, suffered from severe habitat loss and bounty hunting during the colonial era, and was eventually declared extinct in India in 1952. The current conservation efforts for the caracal in the Thar Desert and Kuno landscape reflect similar ecological restoration strategies employed under Project Cheetah.