04 May,2017 09:28 PM IST | Mumbai | Santosh Wagh and Ranjeet Jadhav
Mulund hotelier recalls how he nearly escaped jackal attack last year while passing through the same spot in Ghatkopar where the animals attacked three men on Tuesday
Laxminarayan Shetty was cycling through the spot when the incident occured
A day after jackal attacks injured three men in Ghatkopar's pumping house area, Laxminarayan Shetty, a Mulund-based hotelier and cyclist recollected his brush with the pack on the same stretch in December last year.
Shetty, "Around 7 pm, I was cycling from Mulund West towards Chunnabhatti at the service road on the Eastern Express Highway, when suddenly, I spotted a pack of four to five jackals blocking my way. From a few meters away, they looked like dogs. At first, I wondered how so many German Shepherds were together without any man's supervision."
Didn't back off
"I stopped. Then one of the jackals raised its snout. That's when I realised that they were not dogs, but jackals, who were about to attack me. I backed off, but they continued to come near me. Then, a speeding biker came from behind and applied emergency brakes, the screeching sound of which led the jackals to run away and hide in the adjacent mangroves. A few moments later, I saw them still looking towards the street from behind the mangroves, but by now two-three cars had stopped by to see what was happening, and then they disappeared."
Shetty added, "For a few days, I stopped using the service road while cycling and used the main highway instead. It was scary moment when the pack was so close to attacking me. Something needs to be done about it."
Camera traps
However, the forest department has been planning to set up camera traps in the area to monitor the movement of animal. Forest department officials told mid-day that a jackal mother might have attacked the men to protect her pups. Makarand Ghodke, assistant conservator of forest, state man-grove cell said, "We are looking into the matter and concerned officials on the ground have been told to go verify the incidents."
Santosh Kank, range forest officer said, "I learnt about Tuesday's incident and have asked the forest officials to visit the spot and investigate the incident. If needed, rescue operations of jackals will also follow."
