Orphaned jackal pup loses limb to gangrene, is learning to walk

Mumbai: A golden jackal pup is trying to put its best foot forward after the right forelimb had to be amputated recently. The pup was rescued by the forest department from BARC, Chembur, when it was barely three weeks old.
Its mother had died and one of the baby’s limbs was caught in a drainage pipe, said Dr Deepa Katyal, the veterinarian who is currently treating and rehabilitating the pup.It was struggling to extricate its limb, she said.
When the male jackal pup was brought to her clinic, Animal Wellness & Rehabilitation Centre, it was running a temperature, and had diarrhoea. “It weighed just 228 gm and refused to eat,” Dr Katyal said. The jackal was put on intravenous drips and the pus-like formation oozing out of its limb was sent for culture test. “It revealed a part of the leg had developed gangrene,” said the vet.
The pup was still too young for full-fledged medical treatment which could have worked well on an older animal. “So, it was put on a minimal dosage of antibiotics besides photo light therapy,” said the vet, explaining that photo light therapy helps in quicker healing of wounds.
With time, the jackal began to nibble on food, and its wound started to heal. That is when sensitive tissue from the gangrenous limb was peeled off. “Only after that the amputation was done,” Dr Katyal said. It took the jackal one more week to heal.
It is now trying to stand and slowly propelling itself to inch forward, but it cannot move completely as it seems to be experiencing “Phantom limb pain”. In simple words, when it tries instinctively to use the stub of its amputated limb, it recoils due to the pain. But, the vet said she’s happy with the overall progress the young animal has made. Until last week, when it tried to put its limb forward, it used to totter and slip. “This past week, his footing is slightly better and he seems to be gaining confidence in using three legs.”
The pup, named Noor, will not be released into the wild. “Any wild animal with human imprint can’t survive in the wild,” explained Dr Katyal. “So, forest officials and I are scouting for rehab where Noor can spend the rest of his life comfortably.”