Creek Beds and Cape Hares: Spatial and Seasonal Determinants of Caracal Movement and Diet in a Hyperarid Desert Ecosystem

Native mesopredators face challenges adapting to landscapes modified by human activities, particularly in arid regions, where resources are naturally limited and ecological dynamics are sensitive to disturbance. The caracal (<i>Caracal caracal</i>), a behaviorally flexible predator found across Africa and Asia, offers insights into how such carnivores navigate the balance between natural habitat requirements and anthropogenic pressures. We investigated habitat selection and dietary patterns of caracals in southern Israel's hyperarid Arava Valley using radiotelemetry data from 10 collared individuals (<i>n</i> = 75 tracking days) and scat samples collected during 1986-1987, complemented by ranger observations spanning the four subsequent decades. Resource Selection Function analyzes revealed pronounced sex-specific and seasonal patterns of habitat selection within observed areas of use. Males exhibited larger areas of use than females, whereas habitat selection differed primarily through sex-dependent responses to topography, elevation, hydrological features, and anthropogenic drivers rather than consistent differences in overall terrain preferences. These sex-specific differences were evident in both seasons but were most pronounced during the dry season, suggesting increased habitat segregation under conditions of heightened resource limitation. Both sexes strongly selected for proximity to creek beds across seasons, likely reflecting high natural prey availability-particularly Cape hares, as well as more buffered microclimatic conditions. Caracals demonstrated context dependence in their response to human infrastructure-avoiding paved roads during the dry season, showing seasonal shifts in their use of dirt roads, and selecting areas closer to agricultural fields primarily during the dry season, especially females. Dietary analysis indicated a strong reliance on wild prey, dominated by Cape hares, small rodents, and desert partridge. Only 11.3% of fecal samples contained anthropogenic food items. Long-term observational data confirmed that both caracals and their primary prey exhibited significant spatial association with creek beds. Together, these complementary lines of evidence suggest that natural prey availability remains the dominant driver of caracal habitat selection in this resource-limited system. Conservation efforts should prioritize the protection and connectivity of creek bed habitats to support the persistence of caracals and other native species in increasingly human-dominated arid landscapes.