By Drs. Gaspard, Methode, Noel, & Mike

On November 15, 2016, Gorilla Doctors was informed of a wild golden jackal found caught in a wire snare at the edge of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. A veterinary intervention to release the animal was planned the same morning.

The team arrived at 10:33AM and found the ensnared jackal within 6 meters of the buffalo wall marking the boundary of the park. He was bright, alert, responsive, and we could see his left forelimb was caught in the snare just above the wrist. We restrained him briefly with a hoop net in order to administer the anesthetic by intramuscular injection. Within four minutes the jackal was fully anesthetized and we were able to extricate him from the snare quickly. Fortunately, his skin was still intact, but we went ahead and cleaned the wound on his leg to help prevent infection.

Aw we always do when we anesthetize a wild animal, we conducted a thorough physical exam.  Despite the distress caused by being caught in a snare, the jackal appeared to be in good physical health and it showed no obvious signs of illness. The jackal’s body condition was fairly good, although it exhibited some signs of dehydration, so we administered fluids subcutaneously to help hydrate it before reversing the anesthesia.

Within an hour of first encountering the jackal in the snare, he was freed, treated, and released back to the forest.  We were happy to see him return to his home healthy and free.

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