Few in the Jahan family’s remote Bangladeshi village had ever seen a jackal up close—until one morning when a rabid jackal stalked four-year-old Musqan through the paddy fields, pounced on her, and maimed her for life.
Violent, unprovoked attacks by rabid canines are rising across the South Asian nation, driven by rampant deforestation and habitat loss—a trend experts say has been exacerbated by climate change.
Musqan is still recovering from the horrific injuries she sustained last month. While prompt treatment ensured she remains rabies-free, her face is scarred by bite wounds, and one of her eyes is swollen shut.
“It happened in broad daylight,” her aunt, Ishrat Jahan, told AFP. “A jackal pushed her to the ground and blindly bit her. Other villagers later killed it, but they’re still traumatised by what happened.”
Golden jackals, like the one that attacked Musqan, are slender, wolf-like creatures found across Bangladesh, roughly the size of a greyhound but lighter in weight. Typically nocturnal, these jackals rarely interact with humans during the day.
Animal researcher Zoheb Mahmud, from Independent University in Dhaka, has spent eight years studying golden jackals and notes their behavior has changed due to “the gradual erosion of habitats.”
“I found the once-shy creatures had begun staring at us,” he said. “They are supposed to come out in the evening or at night, but we saw them during the day.”
Urbanization and logging have decimated much of Bangladesh’s jackal habitat. Monitoring group Global Forest Watch reported that Bangladesh lost 17,800 hectares (44,000 acres) of forest cover in 2022 alone—an area roughly three times the size of Manhattan.
Mahmud warned that jackal attacks on humans “will not stop” unless habitat destruction is curbed.
Bangladesh, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, is facing worsening extreme weather that experts say is making wildlife attacks more likely.
In September, widespread flooding displaced millions of people for the second consecutive year, with floodwaters inundating forests and forcing jackals and other wildlife into human settlements.
“Due to the flood, the jackals lost their dwellings and food,” said jackal bite victim Obaidul Islam from Nilphamari, a northern district.
“So they came and bit more than a dozen people in our village.”
Rakibul Hasan Mukul, executive director of the wildlife group Arannayk, explained how climate change is intensifying the crisis.
“More extreme and frequent flooding erodes farmlands, displacing humans and prompting further deforestation,” he said.
“This leads to increased conflicts between humans and wildlife. People are clearing bushes around wetlands and their homes for farming, pushing small mammals into crisis as they lose their habitats.”
Bangladesh’s health ministry does not maintain specific records on jackal bites, but hospitals report an alarming surge in attacks this year.
The Munshiganj District Hospital, south of Dhaka, treated 20 bite victims in a single day in September.
“I have never seen so many jackal bite cases in one day,” hospital superintendent Dewan Nizam Uddin Ahmed told AFP.
Dinajpur Hospital, on the opposite side of the country, recorded 12 cases in a single day.
“We are regularly getting bite patients,” said superintendent Mohammad Fazlur Rahman. “The jackals are roaming freely through the farmland.”
Golden jackals are naturally shy, avoiding human contact unless they contract rabies, a disease that makes them bold and aggressive. Rabies spreads quickly among canines through bites, and once symptoms appear, the disease is almost always fatal in humans without immediate treatment.
Musqan was bitten last month and underwent three days of treatment to prevent rabies. She then spent a month in the hospital undergoing surgeries for her wounds and remains deeply traumatized.
“We can prevent rabies with vaccines,” said Dr. Ariful Bashar, one of the doctors treating Musqan.
“But most of the time, jackals rip out flesh, deforming their victims. Almost all of them then need reconstructive surgery.”
