Thane: Golden jackals spotted at flamingo sanctuary

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

A group of tourists on Saturday evening spotted two golden jackals, which are rarely seen in their natural habitat, at the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary. "I came to the Bhandup pumping station to take the flamingo boat ride," said wildlife enthusiast Kunal Chaudhari.

"There were five to six other people in the boat with me, including my friend and expert bird guide Shahid Bamne. As our boat approached the flamingos, Shahid noticed two jackals sitting nearby in the mangrove forest. The sighting of the animal in its natural habitat is extremely rare, and I consider myself very fortunate that we were able to spot them for at least five minutes."

Chaudhari also added that this sighting would have not been possible without Bamne who also works with the Mangrove Foundation as a boat operator and has excellent knowledge about the bird species found in the area.

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There are huge mangrove forest patches in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, including a portion of the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary, Bhandup pumping station, Charkop, Versova, Vasai, Bhayander and Ghodbunder Road. While there have been many golden jackal sightings at these locations, no proper study had been carried out about them and so the Mangrove Foundation has started a population estimation study of the species in mangrove forests in and around Mumbai. The research will not only help create better conservation strategies but also result in the compilation of data about the golden jackal.

In the past, there have been several human-jackal conflict incidents; there have also been instances where the jackals have been rescued from human settlements close to mangrove forests in Mulund and Vikhroli. The 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 omnivores 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.

80,000
Estimated golden jackal population across India