GOLDEN JACKAL

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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)

https://www.deccanherald.com/national/west/maharashtra-golden-jackal-falls-in-25-feet-well-rescued-after-3-hour-long-operation-1227525.html