A young child was injured when a jackal attacked a family in a Tel Aviv park last week.
According to a report by Channel 12 Monday morning, the incident occurred last Wednesday evening, while an extended family was sitting on the grass in a neighborhood park in the Maoz Aviv quarter of Tel Aviv.
Among the relatives sitting together on the grass were a young couple and their one-year-old son.
A jackal approached the family, who initially thought the animal was a dog.
Suddenly, the jackal pounced on the one-year-old boy and tried to drag him off.
Family members jumped up and managed to scare the jackal off, leaving the child behind.
The child suffered contusions and minor wounds from the jackal’s bites. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and was listed in good condition.
“He really looked like a dog,” one neighbor who witnessed the incident said. “We only realized it was a jackal when he approached; he really wasn’t afraid of us.”
“There are have been more than a few jackals hanging around here freely in the neighborhoods in Tel Aviv since the coronavirus crisis began.”
“Just before we stood up, he jumped on the baby and dragged him away. It all happened in a matter of seconds.”
“It absolutely could have ended differently. The jackal could have killed the baby if he had gotten ahold of his head. The baby cried, he was a bit hysterical, but he is okay. He didn’t really understand what happened. Everyone in the neighborhood is in shock from this incident.”