Durban - A baby jackal that was rescued from a fire that killed her two siblings has recovered and is ready to return to the wild.
The playful side-striped jackal (Lupulella adusta), who was named Umlilo, has been living at the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) in Yellowwood Park, Durban, since she was two weeks old and is in the final stages of rehabilitation.
Now, nine months after the tragic fire in a sugar cane field in Zululand, she will be released into her natural habitat in the Thula Thula private game reserve in Empangeni.
“She was the lucky one of the three pups as she was lying beneath her two siblings in the den and managed to survive the fire with only a scorched spot of hair on her forehead," said Crow’s fund-raising and marketing officer, Denika Govender.
She said the final stage of Umlilo’s recovery will see the jackal living in an enclosure on the edge of Crow.
Govender said there was minimal foot traffic in that area and no human stimulus, which would ensure that Umlilo’s release into the wild was successful.
So far Umlilo hasn’t made many friends because the Crow staff are as hands-off as possible.
She only had contact with her “mother” Leigh, the clinic nurse who hand-raised her, and her monkey neighbours that cheered her on when she was presented with food.
“She will find a mate when she is released. Because she came to us alone, she will need to build her own family,” said Govender.
Like all side-striped jackals, Umlilo is an omnivore who enjoys a varied diet dependent on the availability of food.
“She is very playful and she loves the sound of her own voice. She eats rabbits, rats, chicken, wild meat and berries. She is an omnivore, so we supplement her diet with insects, fruits and berries,” said Govender.
Although preparations are under way for Umlilo’s release at the end of September, Crow is still fund-raising for a satellite tracking collar to monitor her activity, location and progress after her release and to enable the organisation to collect valuable data for research purposes.
Govender said they were thankful for all the contributions so far, but a further R15 000 had to be collected to cover the cost of the balance for the collar as well as medical and vet expenses.
Crow can be contacted at 031 462 1127 or emailed at fundraiser@crowkzn.co.za
The side-striped jackal has faint white lines running along both sides of the body and is native to southern and central Africa.
The Independent on Saturday