An adult female jackal has been rescued from a Government office in Vasant Vihar of South Delhi on Wednesday. The jackal was being chased by dogs and had taken refuge inside the office complex.
According to the witnesses, the animal appeared to be in distress and was hiding outside the office building. Deepak Mandal, an employee of the Government office said, "I came to office in the morning and my colleagues informed me about the jackal huddled in a corner outside our office. We decided that it was best to not disturb the animal and call Wildlife SOS for assistance. The animal seems to have wandered out from the forested area near VasantVihar."
According to wildlife experts, the jackal is a nocturnal mammal that can easily maintain speed of 16 km an hour for long periods of time. Jackals often prefer to hunt alone or with only one other jackal.
Geeta Seshamani, co-founder Wildlife SOS said, "Finding a jackal in urban areas is uncommon but not rare. They are found in the Delhi Ridge and habitat loss, rampant encroachment and human activities in the region are forcing animals to move out into the urban areas. Urban wildlife usually becomes the victim of unfounded fears and ignorance. We are very thankful to the residents of Vasant Vihar for being sensitive to the plight of the distressed animal."
A team comprising of two expert rescuers was immediately dispatched to the location. The Wildlife SOS team had to carefully carry out the rescue operation as they didn't want to cause any further stress to thejackal. They undertook the necessary precautions and ensured that the people remained at a safe distance from the animal to avoid any untoward incident. The jackal struggled initially but calmed down soon after.
A member of the rescue team said, "We had to take great care to make sure that the rescue happened smoothly. The animal was kept under observation to make sure that it wasn't injured or unwell."