The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Four newborn jackal puppies rescued

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 08, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Four newborn jackal puppies rescued

P. Oppili

Medavakkam resident hands them over to Guindy Children's Park

RESTING AT A NEW HOME: The rescued Indian jackal puppies sleeping in a cane basket on Wednesday. — Photo: N. Sridharan

CHENNAI : Four newborn jackal puppies found in a burrow near a house in Medavakkam have been rescued by a resident. He handed them over to the Children's Park authorities at Guindy on Monday.

Wildlife authorities at the park said the puppies could not be more than three or four days old. They were yet to open their eyes and were calling for the mother jackal. Using a syringe, an animal keeper was seen on Wednesday feeding milk to the new-borns at frequent intervals.

Park authorities said that they were providing only the diluted milk to the puppies. After taking milk, the puppies start sleeping. The authorities at present have kept them in a small cane basket. The puppies have been provided with a gunny bag as a cushion.

Actually the resident brought in five puppies and one of them died later, said the authorities. Of the total four, three are male puppies. At present the park has a pair of Indian jackals as one of the exhibits.

The wildlife authorities said jackals were bred successfully at the Children's Park. About eight years ago their population in captivity at the park touched more than 16. As there was no adequate space to accommodate all of them, the authorities released nearly 14 of them into the Guindy National Park.

When asked about whether the captive-bred jackals could survive in the wild area, the wildlife authorities said the released jackals were feeding on the rodents and hare inside the Guindy National Park.

When contacted a few naturalists said the resident could have rescued the puppies, when the mother had gone in search of feed. The mother would search for its babies. It would be better if they could be released back into the same place from where they were picked up. Such a move would help in ensuring the better survival of the puppies, they added.

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