An injured jackal was rescued on Palm Beach Road on Tuesday by the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) after a passerby spotted it.
The rescue operation began at around 10 p.m. after Gautam Kumar, the passerby, informed RAWW. Pawan Sharma, founder of RAWW said, “A respondent team of wildlife volunteers, Forest Department officials and a wildlife rescue organisation called Bhumi Jeevdaya rushed to the site. The animal was taken to Bhumi Jeevdaya in Navi Mumbai.”
Mr. Sharma said since the rescued animal was limping, it could have suffered several fractures. The animal’s exact condition will only be known after a thorough medical examination that would include an X-ray and other physical examinations.
“The jackal is in a state of trauma and needs to undergo major surgery. The call for the surgery will be taken tomorrow if it is stable through the night,” he said.
Mr. Kumar, who spotted the jackal said, “I was returning from work last night when I saw that a bike hit the jackal in the left leg, and the animal was limping to a safer place as a reflex action. At first, I thought it was a stray dog but on looking closer, I discovered it was a jackal.”
Hemant B. Karande, round forest officer of Vashi , Sagar Savla, founder of Bhumi Jeevdaya and Jyoti Nadkarni, RAWW volunteer, were among the rescue team. Mr. Savla said they found the animal trapped near the mangroves opposite Delhi Public School.
“It took time to find the animal and the operation lasted one-and-a-half hours. It was difficult to get it because the bushes were dense and we needed torches in case of any snakes.”
Ms. Nadkarni said, blamed the destruction of the animal habitat and resting ground that left the animals with no choice but to search for food in human settlements. “A demarcation on the periphery has to be made and growth should not be at the cost of destruction of habitats. These animals are not trespassing but searching for their lost homes. This is a classic example of human-animal conflict,” Ms. Nadkarni
