Golden jackal found dead in Kharghar, environmentalists raise alarm

NAVI MUMBAI: Environmentalists have expressed concern as a golden jackal was found dead near DAV School in Kharghar in the satellite township of  Navi Mumbai on Sunday night.

Activist Seema Tank, who was on her morning walk along with her husband, noticed the carcass and informed the Maharashtra Forest Department.

This clearly exposes the utter failure on part of the authorities to protect wildlife and their abodes, she said.

The carcass has been taken away for post-mortem. Earlier in March, a golden jackal was found dead in the same node and environmentalists expressed their concern over the encroachments.

The carcass found near DAV School in Kharghar

NatConnect Foundation Director B N Kumar said: "This is a very serious repercussion of the rising animal-human conflict due to the encroachments and destruction of mangroves and wetlands in Kharghar." 

It is highly disturbing that CIDCO has not yet handed over a large stretch of mangroves to the Forest department despite the six-year-old High Court orders to do so, Kumar said.

Illegal fishponds are flourishing in intertidal wetlands of Kharghar despite the local people’s complaints, Tank said.

Golden jackals tend to come out onto the roads as they miss their source of food, mainly fish, which is under attack from encroachers. This poses the risk of the jackals coming in contact with dogs and catching rabies which can be fatal for humans, NatConnect said.

It is essential for the government to carry out a wildlife census in Kharghar mangrove forest and take measures to protect them, Kumar added.