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Rocky Mountains and a Hard Place
RAS AL KHAIMAH - The wild caracal, a predatory cat found in the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, has become a problem for residents in the higher reaches of the emirate.
It has prompted the local environment protection authority to announce compensation for those whose livestock has been attacked or killed.
The Environment Protection and Development Authority (EPDA) of Ras Al Khaimah is also chalking out a plan to protect residents and their livestock, EDPA Executive Director Seif Al Ghais says.
Known locally as Al Hambra or Al Washaq, the eight to 12kg wildcat has inhabited the rocky mountains here for 17 years and is not known to attack humans.
Al Ghais says wild caracals live in mountain caves and only come down when snakes, lizards, rats and other typical prey became scarce in their habitat.
The thought does not help the residents in vulnerable areas, including Wadi Qada’a and Sha’am, who complain of huge losses because of Al Hambra attacks.
The situation is tricky for EPDA because wild caracals are part of the country’s wildlife heritage and residents are being urged not to kill them.
Officials from EPDA will soon coordinate with people living near mountains to trace the wildcats and capture them to be kept in wildlife centres, according to Al Ghais.
His message is easy: Treat it with kindness. But it is not proving easy. Just last week, a caracal was shot dead after it attacked and injured an Emirati, having shaken itself free of a trap.
Ghais said the Al Hambra does not often attack people or larger animals. It does so only when it senses danger, purely as a mechanism of defence.
Ahmed Rashid, a resident of Sham, said they have on many occasions found their livestock, especially cattle and goats, dead as a result of the attacks from the wild caracals.
Not many have seen how these wildcats kill. But their predatory style has begun to leave telltale signs. Walid Shaban says he cannot risk grazing his animals near the mountains anymore.
Speak of being caught between the mountain and a hard place!
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