Maharashtra: NGO rescues Golden Jackal in Sangli

Golden jackals play a very important role in forest ecology. They are omnivorous in nature

In a surprising twist, the Maharashtra Forest Department has stirred attention by confiscating a golden jackal from a settlement of migrant sugarcane workers in Islampur, Sangli. On Friday, the vice president of the NGO, Nature Conservation Society (NECONS), Dr Harshad Divekar received a call from a woman on his mobile from Gotkhindi village in Sangli district giving a tip-off that some people had tied a jackal at a settlement of sugarcane cutters.

The caller, who did not wish to be named, also informed Divekar that the people in the settlement were dragging the animal around with a rope. The woman said she tried hard to call the helpline number of the forest department but was unable to contact them.

Divekar immediately passed on this information to the Assistant Deputy Conservator of Forests (ACF) Ajit Sajne, following which he immediately ordered the Islampur Forest Department to verify the information and take action. Later, a forest guard contacted Divekar and went to the settlement in Gotkhindi village and seized the animal.

"The jackal will be medically examined and soon will be released into its natural habitat," said a Forest Department official. The forest department is also investigating how the sugarcane workers acquired the animal. 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, golden jackals 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.