GOLDEN JACKAL

Description

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Context

The operation was carried in a village, named Waghale. It is located Junnar Range of Pune district of Maharashtra.
It was a 3-hour-long successful operation, carried by Wildlife SOS and the Maharashtra Forest Department.
After rescue this 3-4 years old jackal was examined the veterinary team from Wildlife SOS, and found to be in good health.

Other Details

After making sure jackal has no injuries, it was again released in the Junnar range, its natural habitat.

Golden Jackal

A native species to the Indian subcontinent, they are also known as, Canis Aureus.
Other names are - Asiatic Jackal , Common Jackal.
Size wise they are little bigger than foxes but smaller than wolves.
Distinctive features –
- Golden body
- Dark black fur
- Bushy tail
- Raised ears
- Short legs
With an approximate population of 80,000, they usually live in pairs in the wild.
They can live in a variety of natural habitat some of them are -
- Forested,
- Has scrub
- Savanna type grassland
- Semi-arid or semi urban type
- In valleys
Distribution –
- Southeast Europe
- Central Asia
- Few regions of South and Southeast Asia like India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (for eg. Maharastra, Gujarat)
- Western Asia
By nature these mammals are omnivorous and scavengers. They and can eat various small animals, fish, hares, birds, fruits etc.

Threat

There are no major threats to golden jackal however some are -
- Open wells around the villages.
- Deliberate illegal killing and poisoning.
- Hunting, wildlife trafficking, man-animal conflict
- Legal culling.
- Highway accidents.

Benefits

They can play an important role in the sustenance of forest ecology.
They can help in getting rid of large quantities of animal waste.
In some human inhabited regions of Europe they also considered as crop pest rodents ensuring healthy agricultural produce.

Conservation status

These are protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
Falls under Least concern category as per IUCN.

Must read Article:

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/international-union-for-conservation-of-nature

Wildlife SOS

It is a non-profit organisation of India specially working for protection and conservation of wild animals. Established in India in 1995 it has a main objective of Rescuing and rehabilitating of distressed wildlife in distress.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Consider following statements about Golden Jackals :

1. IUCN classifies them as Threatened.

2. These can be found in mountains with elevation more than 3000 meters.

Select the correct answer using the codes below –

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (D)