With the population of jackals remaining low in the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), a jackal was captured in a camera trap in Hassanur Division at STR here.
Currently, camera trap exercise is in progress at the STR for estimating population of tigers and other wild animals. The forest department had installed 320 cameras to capture the movement of tigers and other co-predators. As many as 150 watchers spread across 25 anti-poaching camps, are involved in the task.
Recently, a jackal was captured in a camera trap in the Hassanur Division. The medium-sized omnivorous animal, also called as Indian jackal, was seen moving near a rock. Usually jackals live in pairs and form small packs when hunting small deer. However, they do not attack humans and are found in dense bushes and holes.
Though there are no data available on the number of jackals in STR, sources in the forest department said that its population was very low and camera trap was a rare one. “The last camera trap of a jackal was in 2011”, they added.
I. Anwardeen, Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director, STR, told The Hindu that they are closely monitoring the existing population of various species. He added that conservation of tiger as a flagship species also assists revival of threatened population at various tropic levels of wild ecosystems. A jackal was spotted in Bargur hills in 2015. Apart from this, the animal has not been spotted in the forest areas.
