( ) Journal of Arid Environments 1998 40: 109112 Article No. ae980433 Range size and habitat use of an adult male caracal in northern Saudi Arabia Yolanda M. van Heezik & Philip J. Seddon National W ildlife Research Center, National Commission for W ildlife Conservation and Development, P.O. Box, 1086, T aif, S audi A rabia ( ) Received 5 January 1998, accepted 4 June 1998 Between March 1996 and January 1997 an adult male caracal was radio-tracked in the northern steppe desert of Saudi Arabia. Total home range, using the 95% minimum convex polygon method from 65 locations, increased from 270 km 2 in winter and spring to 448 km 2 by the end of summer, reaching 1116 km 2 by January 1997. The caracal fed on camel Camelus dromedarus and gazelle Gazella subgutturosa carcasses, and killed and ate a steppe eagle A quila ( ) nipalensis; the faeces contained rodent bones M eriones sp. and Gerbillus sp. . Diurnal resting areas had higher densities of small mammals than random sites. Low prey biomass in a very arid environment probably necessitated the large movements made by this individual.  1998 Academic Press Keywords: caracal; Saudi Arabia; radio-tracking; range; habitat; Caracal caracal Introduction The solitary, nocturnal life style of caracals Caracal caracal has meant few field observations have been made on this widely distributed, medium-sized felid. On the Arabian Peninsula, C. c . schmitzi probably doesn’t penetrate far into the great sand deserts of the interior, but occurs throughout the mountain ranges and hilly steppe ( ) regions where it is persecuted by livestock herders Harrison, 1991 . In this paper we describe the movements of an adult male caracal which was radio-tracked for 11 months in the Harrat al-Harrah Reserve in northern Saudi Arabia ( ) 2 ( ) Fig. 1 . The approx. 12,000 km reserve comprises fields of basalt rock harrat , vegetated wadis, silty depressions, gravel hills and rocky hills. Sheep and goats are excluded from the reserve, but as many as 7000 untended camels graze freely. The ( reserve protects a small population of sand gazelles Gazella subgutturosa approx. 1300 ) individuals . Annual rainfall is usually less than 80 mm, and there is no standing water throughout most of the year. Caracal were previously considered to be ‘certainly now ( ) extinct’ in this northern region Green, 1986 ; their continued presence was confirmed only when this individual was trapped. 0140196398010109  04 $30.000  Academic Press