Jackals escape enclosure at Delhi zoo

A few jackals escaped their enclosure at the National Zoological Park on Saturday.

One jackal was safely herded back into the enclosure on Sunday morning, while teams continued search for the remaining animals within the premises, zoo officials said.

The officials said the incident took place on Saturday when three to four golden jackals were sighted outside their off-display holding area, near the bushy forest belt behind Azimganj Sarai in Beat No. 10 of the zoo.

“Trap cages were placed and staff were deployed to bring the animals back to the holding area for their safety,” the zoo said in an official statement. Teams from the animal section and the zoo’s security wing have been deployed across the area.

“A tranquilisation team has been kept on standby,” the officials said. Staff members are tracking the animals through ground patrols and CCTV surveillance.

The zoo clarified that the jackals “are not in the visitors’ areas.” Preliminary inventory checks show that one to two animals may also be free-ranging.

The Joint Director of the National Zoological Park has been asked to hold an inquiry and submit a detailed

report. As of now, the zoo authorities have not clarified how the animals managed to flee their enclosure.

Zoo officials maintain that efforts are underway to locate the remaining jackals and guide them safely back.

The incident comes barely weeks after the Delhi Zoo reopened earlier this month following a two-month closure due to an avian influenza outbreak. The zoo was shut on August 30 after several painted storks and black-headed ibis died of the H5N1 virus. It reopened on November 8 after multiple rounds of testing and sanitisation, following clearance from the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal.

The reopening drew over 8,000 visitors on the first day, including hundreds of schoolchildren, and introduced new features such as an “Insta Ticket Booking Service” using QR codes and UPI payments.