Mumbai: Adult golden jackal found dead on Eastern Express Highway

Golden jackals are protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. File Photo/Kunal Chaudhari

An adult golden jackal was found dead on the Eastern Express Highway in Mumbai early on Wednesday morning. A PTI report quoted a representative from a wildlife welfare group saying that it is suspected that the jackal was hit by a vehicle.

Upon receiving information, a rescue squad was dispatched to the Kanjurmarg area, the PTI report added.

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Pawan Sharma, the founder of the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) and an honorary wildlife warden, investigated the case and concluded that the male jackal most likely died as a result of injuries incurred in a vehicle collision, the report stated.

To understand any underlying issues, a detailed post-mortem examination (necropsy) will be carried out to determine the cause of death and ascertain if there were any pre-existing complications, Sharma explained.

"A detailed necropsy (post-mortem) will be conducted to find out if the animal had any complications," he was quoted as saying.

The Eastern Express Highway, an important road connecting Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Thane, is near the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary and mangrove forests, habitats commonly frequented by jackals, Sharma highlighted.

Sharma plans to interact with relevant authorities to push for the erection of animal crossing signboards at critical spots along the roadway, expressing his concern. He also intends to offer other scientific solutions to safeguard the safety of animals traversing these locations, the report added.

He was quoted in the PTI report as saying, "I will speak to the authorities concerned about installation of sign boards pertaining to wildlife crossing areas at strategic locations (on the highway) along with other scientific measures to save the animals."

Man-animal conflict in Maharashtra

The Human-Wildlife conflict (HWC) saw an alarming rise in the last one decade. According to the exclusive data accessed by mid-day, as many as 624 persons were killed and over 5,000 were injured in Maharashtra between January 2012 and January 2023 due to HWC. Reportedly, the Maharashtra Forest Department had paid over Rs 450 crore towards compensation due to HWC which included human deaths, injuries, cattle loss and crops damage in the 10-year-period.

The data was received as a response to an RTI query filed with the Maharashtra Forest Department regarding the number of deaths in HWC (involving tiger/leopard/elephant/black bear/wild boar) from January 2012 to January 2023.