Indore: An adult jackal was found injured on Bicholi Bypass late night on Friday and rescued on Saturday, where it was mistaken for a hairy breed dog. The jackal was severely injured and at the verge of losing its life.
Animal activists Suyash Vij and Lokant Jain rescued the jackal and contacted State Coordinator at MP Police Assistance Centre against Animal Cruelties Priyanshu Jain. Priyanshu coordinated the rescue and handed over the jackal to forest department.
The jackal was taken to city zoo, where it is being treated. “The cause of its injuries is yet not known, it could be an accident, disease or any other reason,” Priyanshu said.
City zoo in-charge Dr Uttam Yadav said, “The jackal is an adult about 2.5 year old.” He added that the jackal is still in shock and hasn’t come out.
“The jackal has some injuries and most of all, it is in shock, which is problematic,” Yadav said. He added that jackal is on treatment.
“It is a possibility that the jackal was injured infighting, but it cannot be correctly estimated as yet,” Yadav said.
From the video of the injured jackal, an injury on its head can be seen. The head injury raises concern on it being injured in infighting.
Religious beliefs in superstition, coupled with extensive online advertisements, have helped sustain local and transnational markets in a talisman called the ‘jackal horn’.
In a recent study published in Journal of Threatened Taxa, scientists from the Wild Canids–India Project team document that the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (Government of India) has seized 126 skins, 8 tails, more than 370 ‘jackal horns’, 16 skulls and two live jackals between 2013 and 2019.
The findings indicate that the illegal wildlife trade driven by demand for religious and superstitious products similarly target monitor lizards, leopards, pangolins, musk deer, owls, snakes, and corals.
