• Destruction of mangrove cover in the Bandar Reserve Forest (BRF) is forcing the golden jackal (Canis aureus) out of its habitat, triggering a conflict with the local communities.
• It is a sign of its destruction.
• Amid uproar over the aqua ponds, the Vigilance authorities in 2017 recommended to the State government to hand over the 24,363 acres under the BRF and the BRF extension (I to IV) to the Forest department for protection.
• Since 1970, the BRF has been in the hands of the Revenue department as the final notification to de-reserve the forest land (25,259 acres) was still pending owing to various reasons.
• The Revenue authorities, on the other hand, are helpless in preventing the encroachment of the mangrove along the Machilipatnam coastline.
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• The golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia.
• Indian golden jackals exhibit the highest genetic diversity, and those from northern and western India are the most basal, which indicates that India was the center from which golden jackals spread.
• The conservation status of the animal is the ‘least concern’.
• The golden jackal is both a predator and a scavenger.
• Due to their tolerance of dry habitats and their omnivorous diet, the golden jackal can live in a wide variety of habitats.
• Golden jackals appear in Indian folklore and in two ancient texts, the Jakatas and the Panchatantra, where they are portrayed as intelligent and wily creatures.
• The ancient Hindu text, the Mahabharata, tells the story of a learned jackal who sets his friends the tiger, wolf, mongoose, and mouse against each other so he can eat a gazelle without sharing it.
• The Panchatantra tells the fable of a jackal who cheats a wolf and a lion out of their shares of a camel.
• In Hinduism, the jackal is portrayed as the familiar of several deities with the most common being Chamunda, the emaciated, devouring goddess of the cremation grounds.
• Another deity associated with jackals is Kali, who inhabits the cremation ground and is surrounded by millions of jackals.

The Hindu