An abandoned jackal pup rescued from a mangrove patch near Navi Mumbai in March has been nursed back to health after doctors operated upon it for a birth defect. The rescue of the mammal was the first of its kind in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The baby jackal, now active and playful, had an infection in an eye socket that was spreading throughout its body fast.

It was RAWW, an NGO working towards human-wildlife conflict mitigation and promoting urban wildlife conservation, that took it upon itself to care for the jackal pup. Its president Pawan Sharma told mid-day, “An abandoned juvenile jackal that came to us with a critical case of congenital anomaly underwent a successful enucleation surgery performed by veterinarian Dr Rina Dev and because of the timely treatment, the mammal got a second life after months of rehabilitation.”