Habitat loss stokes rabid jackal attacks in Bangladesh

Dhaka: Few in the Jahan family s remote Bangladeshi village had seen a jackal up close before the morning one stalked Musqan through the paddy fields,...

Dhaka: Few in the Jahan family's remote Bangladeshi village had seen a jackal up close before the morning one stalked Musqan through the paddy fields, pounced on her, and maimed the four-year-old for life.

Violent and unprovoked attacks by rabid canines are rising around the South Asian nation due to rampant deforestation and habitat loss -- a trend experts say has been worsened by climate change.

Musqan is still recovering from the horrific injuries she sustained in the mauling last month by the rabid jackal. While she is rabies-free thanks to prompt treatment, her face is disfigured by bite wounds and one of her eyes remains 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 are still traumatised by what happened."