Jackal pup rescued from 40-feet well

The NGO dispatched a three-member team to the location. One of the rescuers climbed down the well with the help of a ladder provided by the fire brigade.

A male golden jackal pup was rescued from a 40-feet deep well in south Delhi’s Rajokri on Saturday morning.

The golden jackal is native to the Indian subcontinent and protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. (HT image)

According to a non-government organisation (NGO), the animal was stuck in the well for two days.

“The pup found itself trapped in a 40-foot-deep well outside Kholi Wale Baba ka mandir in Rajokri village. It was well over 48 hours before a concerned passer-by contacted the Delhi Fire Service for help, which in turn alerted Wildlife SOS,” said a release issued by Wildlife SOS, a NGO working on wildlife rescue and conservation.

The NGO dispatched a three-member team to the location. One of the rescuers climbed down the well with the help of a ladder provided by the fire brigade. After an hour-long process, the rescuer carefully transferred the terrified pup into a small transport cage using rescue equipment. The young jackal was found to be unhurt and later released into the neighbouring forest patch.

“The jackal appeared hungry and exhausted, and he was cowering in a corner when I went down to rescue him,” one of the rescuers said.

Raj Kumar, lead fireman said they reached out to wildlife SOS since they wanted to avoid agitating or mishandling the wild animal. “We reached out to the Wildlife SOS team to ensure the rescue operation was carried out safely,” he said.

Wasim Akram, Deputy Director-Special Projects, Wildlife SOS, said, “Finding a jackal in Delhi-NCR is uncommon but not rare. Such cases, have been increasing in the recent years and the main reason behind this appears to be the lack of proper covers and fencing around wells. We have requested the temple authorities to cover the well to prevent such incidents from reoccurring.”