The wolf-like golden jackal still thrives in some parts of India‘s financial capital, Mumbai, according to a new study, reports contributor Sneha Mahale for Mongabay India.
Historically, the golden jackal (Canis aureus) could be spotted in several areas of southern Mumbai, study co-author Nikit Surve, research manager at Wildlife Conservation Society-India told Mongabay India. “Today, their southernmost habitat is limited to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre [in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai], while thriving populations are found in the mangrove belts of Gorai, Manori [in north Mumbai] and Vashi,” he added.
Surve and his colleagues set up camera traps across different mangrove areas in the Mumbai metropolitan region and captured nearly 3,000 images over the course of 938 nights. Of these, 790 images featured the golden jackal. These jackal populations seem to be doing well, Surve told Mongabay India.
“Though we do not know their exact numbers, we observed pups of various ages during our two-month survey, suggesting that breeding occurs year-round,” Surve said. “Even in smaller packs, we found pups and lactating females, which is a strong indicator of a healthy, active breeding population — not a stagnant one.”
Along with jackals, the cameras captured 1,666 images of people, although the jackals appeared to be more active at night, with their activity peaking during dawn and dusk, when human presence was low.
Additionally, the researchers obtained 374 pictures of free-ranging dogs, suggesting that jackals and dogs were sharing the same spaces.
This poses two challenges, Mahale reports. The overlap between jackals and free-ranging dogs raises the risk of transmission of diseases like rabies; one record of rabies infection was in fact confirmed in five jackals in October this year, all of which died within a month.
“While there’s no definitive evidence of a population-wide outbreak, more in-depth methods are required when it comes to studying diseases, including blood sample collection and cultures. At the moment, we don’t know what’s happening,” Surve told Mongabay India.
Another threat is the risk of hybridization between jackals and dogs. The presence of suspected hybrid individuals in the camera trap images suggests this may already be happening, Mahale reports.
The golden jackal is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. But within India, it’s afforded the highest level of legal protection.
“The golden jackals of Mumbai remain vital to the city’s ecological balance,” Mahale writes. “They act as natural waste managers, controlling prey populations and cleaning up organic debris. Yet, their survival is heavily reliant on the preservation of contiguous mangrove patches. Fragmentation of these habitats could push these resilient predators toward local extinction.”
This article by Shreya Dasgupta was first published by Mongabay.com on 27 December 2024. Lead Image: A golden jackal by Shino jacob koottanad via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
What you can do
Help to save wildlife by donating as little as $1 – It only takes a minute.
