The recent confirmation of rabies in a wild jackal near Mumbai has raised alarm among wildlife experts, who see it as a significant threat to both wild animals and humans. This incident, potentially the first rabies-related death of a wild animal in Mumbai, has brought renewed attention to the role of domestic and feral dogs in spreading diseases like rabies, canine distemper, and parvovirus, especially in densely populated, fragmented landscapes where interactions between domestic dogs and wildlife are frequent.
Dr. Shailesh Pethe, a wildlife veterinarian, pointed out that domestic dogs can serve as “reservoir hosts” for diseases that endanger wildlife. The high density of these dogs in urban-adjacent forests, like those around Mumbai, increases encounters with wild species, which can lead to disease transmission. Effective disease control, he said, requires tracking the movement and interaction of these animals to understand and manage the spread of infections.
Wildlife biologist Anand Pendharkar emphasized the pressing need for a national dog census and stricter population control. He highlighted the detrimental impact of dog attacks on various wildlife species, from leopards to endangered birds like the great Indian bustard. He argued that the rise in feral and free-ranging dog populations poses an escalating threat to biodiversity and contributes to the spread of diseases affecting endangered species like jackals, now listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Kedar Gore from The Corbett Foundation stressed the urgency of surveying potentially infected areas and controlling the rabid dog population, pointing to the inconsistency of animal birth control programs that have thus far been ineffective in managing the dog population. Kishor Rithe, director of the Bombay Natural History Society, echoed this concern, noting that while countries like Ethiopia conduct large-scale anti-rabies vaccination drives, India lacks similar preventive measures. He warned that if unchecked, diseases like rabies could severely impact already declining populations of canids like wild dogs, jackals, and wolves.
The situation calls for immediate action through vaccination drives, population control measures, and public awareness initiatives to protect both wildlife and human populations from this escalating health threat.
