Status and activity patterns of the Caracal,Caracal caracal(Schreber, 1776), in Datça and Bozburun Peninsulas, Southwestern Turkey

We were able to document the presence of the Caracal, Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776), in southwestern Turkey in the course of a survey carried out in Datça and Bozburun Peninsulas between December 2007 and August 2008 with the help of camera traps. The Caracal was found to occur mainly (72% of the records) in pine woodlands with high habitat heterogeneity. 28% of the records are from maquis vegetation and this may be related to the high abundance of wild goats in this habitat, especially at the end of the winter season. However, no Caracal records were obtained from low scrub (phrygana) vegetation. Caracals were active during both day and night except for late morning and around midnight. Altogether, 13 medium-sized and large mammal species were detected during the camera trap survey.