Kharghar: Dog, jackal interaction seen again sparking fresh concerns

The video is reportedly captured by Seema Tank, an animal welfare officer

Another interaction between a Golden Jackal and a stray dog observed near the mangroves and wetlands in Kharghar on Thursday has raised concerns over the rising frequency of such interactions. Wildlife enthusiasts say such interactions could lead to the transmission of diseases between the two species. The video filmed in the Navi Mumbai-Kharghar area has been widely shared online. It shows a peaceful interaction between the jackal and the stray dog. The video is reportedly captured by Seema Tank, an animal welfare officer who is both a dog lover and a wildlife enthusiast.

Neha Panchamiya, founder and president of RESQ Charitable Trust, said, "In this video, the domestic dog exhibits social behaviours and attempts to initiate interaction with the jackal. However, the jackal consistently avoids engagement and displays calming signals, indicative of its intent to de-escalate the interaction and convey a lack of interest in socialising. Calming signals (eg. avoiding eye contact, turning back, freezing, etc.) are a natural behavioural response, often used to reduce potential stress or conflict in interspecies encounters."

The dog attempts to engage with the jackal

Wildlife conservationist Kedar Gore of the Corbett Foundation said, "The presence of jackals in and around mangrove areas of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai is a positive sign, as the protected mangroves are providing them with habitat needed for their survival. It is essential to begin jackal population estimation and ecology surveys to understand their food preferences, among other parameters. Jackals are opportunistic feeders and take to scavenging. Having garbage dumps around mangroves may drive the jackals out of mangroves to human areas where free-ranging dogs too are present in large numbers.

This interaction may result in human-wildlife conflicts, zoonotic disease transmission, or hybridisation between jackals and dogs, as has been seen previously. Preventing dumping of food waste in open areas, vaccination and sterilisation of free-ranging dogs, and raising awareness among the city dwellers should be taken on as a priority. The first two are easier said than done due to the careless attitude of people and lack of sustained efforts and scale needed in making spay-neuter programmes successful."

NatConnect Foundation termed the dog-jackal interaction as dangerous. Some stray dogs may have been sterilised, but not the jackals. Jackals can catch and spread rabies. NatConnect Director B N Kumar said. "Moreover, the cross of dogs and jackals can lead to an altogether challenging offspring. The new animal will have wild instincts, and it cannot be tamed and domesticated, which is why they are called wild animals," Kumar said.

"One disturbing development is that the golden jackals have begun to come out even during the morning hours, and I shudder to think about the dangers to children," said Jyoti Nadkarni of Kharghar Wetlands & Hills Forum.

In the last two to three months, there have been several jackal deaths in Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, of which rabies has been confirmed in three cases.