![]() ![]() ![]() Yet their presence on a farm could deter other predators. Most farmers will shoot a caracal on sight. Holme’s wife Marion helped to take care of them while Pfleiderer was overseas, and became fascinated by them. ![]() She was also studying breeding small cats in captivity and had to return periodically to Germany. Holmes explains that you’ll typically find one caracal per 400 hectares, and a jackal per 1 000 hectares, so his predator population has balanced out at eight to ten caracal and four to six jackal at any one time.īut Dr Pfleiderer’s work has changed their lives in more ways than one. His losses plummeted from 50 to about 6 a year. Richard felt he had nothing more to lose, so some caracals were brought in from other farms (they are very easy to trap because of their feline curiosity). In fact, most predators will kill other carnivores if they get half a chance. The same is true of lions and hyenas – another cat and ‘dog’ kind of rivalry that goes back aeons. In this way, they keep each other’s populations in check. Jackals and caracals are old enemies.ĭr Pfleiderer explained that caracals and jackals are eternal foes, and will always pursue and kill one another, and each other’s young, wherever possible. What about introducing more caracals, also known as lynx, or rooikat, into the area? Holmes’ mind reeled as he pictured his neighbours’ response and even greater sheep losses. In despair, he mentioned his problem to Dr Mircea Pfleiderer, an Austrian researcher studying small cats (African wildcats, caracals, servals and small spotted cats) in the area at the time. Like most farmers, he tried all the tricks, but the death toll stayed steady, and the jackals outwitted him at every turn. When he still had 600 Dohne Merino ewes several years ago, he was losing 50 sheep a year to jackals. Holmes has a 3 400 hectare game ranch near Cradock in the Karoo. Richard Holmes, a fourth generation farmer in the Cradock area, thinks he may have stumbled across a solution, but it’s one that goes against every instinct. No matter what farmers do – hire varmint hunters, set traps, kraal the sheep – the jackals always seem to come out on top. Almost any sheep farmer in this country will, at some stage, have wondered whether he was raising sheep or jackal. Caracals, or rooikatte, are persecuted for their sheep-eating habits. ![]()
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