Mumbai: Forest dept to investigate rise in jackal deaths in Chembur

Golden jackals are native to the Indian subcontinent. Representation pic

In a concerning series of events, five jackals have died in the Trombay-Chembur belt over the past month, prompting investigations by the forest department. While the reason behind their deaths is unknown, sources from the forest department told mid-day that the sick jackals that were rescued showed behaviours indicative of a potential rabies infection.

"The sick jackals we rescued showed behaviours indicative of a potential rabies infection. However, it is too soon to make any definitive statements. We have taken brain samples from one deceased jackal and will send them to the veterinary college lab for testing to check for rabies," said a forest department
official.

NGO RAWW president Pawan Sharma initially attributed the incidents to the heat typically observed in October, which often leads to dehydration. However, the recent surge in both rescues and fatalities has led to a more serious investigation.

"The forest department is now actively looking into the matter following these alarming cases," Sharma stated. He noted that two jackals in their care were exhibiting unusual behaviours, which prompted alerts to the Mumbai Territorial Wing, Mangrove Cell, and Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

Sources from the forest department also said that on October 13, they received a call from the Trombay-Chembur area about a sick jackal, which was later jointly rescued by RAWW, and it died the same night.

"On October 21, a sick jackal was rescued from the Trombay-Chembur area close to Anushakti Nagar, and it died the same night. Similarly, on October 25, two sick jackals were rescued; one died on arrival, while the other succumbed the following day," said another official from the forest department.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has a healthy population of jackals; however, threats like habitat destruction, feral dogs, and road kills have been a major threat to them.

These canines have been surviving a secretive life in the mangroves of major cities like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Thane, which needs to be studied in detail for further helping conservation efforts for them.

There are huge mangrove forest patches in the MMR, including a portion of the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary, Bhandup pumping station, Charkop, Versova, Vasai, Bhayander, and Ghodbunder Road.

While there have been many sightings of jackals at these locations, no proper study has been carried out about them, and so the Mangrove Foundation has also started a population estimation study of the golden jackal in mangrove forests in and around Mumbai.

In the past, there have been several human-jackal conflict incidents. In many instances, the jackals have been rescued from human settlements close to mangrove forests in the Mulund and Vikhroli areas. The ongoing research might also help gain an understanding of their diet and activity patterns and the threats they face.

Golden jackals are native to the Indian subcontinent and play a very important role in forest ecology. They are omnivorous in nature and feed on a variety of small mammals, birds, fish, rabbits, and even fruit.

Unfortunately, they are frequent victims of hunting, wildlife trafficking, man-animal conflict, and highway accidents. This species is protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and has an estimated population of 80,000 in the wild.

80,000
Estimated population of jackals in India