Uncle! Uncle, please come!” The shrill voice of my neighbour’s daughter interrupted me as I sat working at my desk one evening. Popping my head out of our front door, I asked her what the matter was. “There are foxes in our house!” she exclaimed
Foxes in her home? Impossible, I thought to myself. Walking with her to her house I met her excited mother. The child’s mother explained to me that she had seen two adult “foxes” along with four young cubs. This pride of “foxes” had entered a partially covered drain in her backyard and were hiding there.
Terrified, she also told me that she had called the security guards in the society who had blocked the entry holes so that the animals were trapped in the drain and could not come out.
I asked her to describe the creatures and at once realised that they were not foxes but the Indian Jackal (Canis aureus). Jackals are canids, and are members of the dog family. They are widely distributed throughout India. Jackals have many different local names; they are called gidar in Hindi, naree in Tamil and nakka in Telugu.
The Indian Fox (Vulpes bengalensis) is also a canid, and superficially looks like the jackal.
Foxes can be seen throughout peninsular India, but are not as common as the jackal, and definitely more wary of humans, thereby less likely to be seen near human habitation.
While the jackal looks like a small Alsatian dog with a pointed snout and a black-tipped tail, foxes are smaller, have bushier tails and shorter legs.
Coming back to the jackals in my neighbour’s home, I explained to them that the jackal could do humans no harm.
Jackals mainly prey on small creatures such as rodents, birds and other small animals. The animal also predates on domestic fowl and hence tends to come into conflict with villagers. Jackals also scavenge, and hence can be found in the vicinity of garbage dumps.
The jackal family in my neighbour’s home was probably taking shelter to protect the cubs. By blocking the openings of their refuge, we were actually preventing the jackals from leaving when the threat perception had reduced.
Explaining this to my neighbours, I removed the blockage and told my neighbour that she should just let the jackals be, as they would move away themselves when they felt safe.
Jackals normally live singly or in pairs, outside the breeding season. They can be seen during the day and by night.
However, their loud, eerie howls at night are the surest indicator of their presence. Over the next few weeks, the loud howls of the jackal were heard at night in the vicinity of our society, informing us that the jackals were safe and sound!
Feedback and queries are welcome at sanjay.sondhi1@gmail.com