Golden Jackal
The Golden Jackal is a canid within the family Canidae which includes the South American canids, the fox-like canids and the wolf-like canids. Within the wolf-like canids is the jackal group which includes the 3 jackals: the Golden Jackal, the Black-backed Jackal and the Side-striped Jackal. These 3 species are approximately the same size, possess similar dental and skeletal morphology and are identified from each other primarily by their coat colour.
The Golden Jackal is similar to the Grey Wolf but it is distinguished by its smaller size, lighter weight, more elongated torso, less prominent forehead, shorter legs and tail and a muzzle that is narrower and more pointed. The legs are long in relation to its body and the feet are slender with small pads. Males measure 28 to 33 inches in body length and females 27 to 29 inches. Males weigh 13 to 31 pounds and females 15 to 24 pounds. The shoulder height is 18 to 20 inches for both. In comparison, the smallest wolf is the Arabian Wolf which weighs on average 44 pounds.
The fur of the Golden Jackal is coarse and relatively short with the base colour golden but varying seasonally from a pale creamy yellow to a dark tawny. The fur on the back is composed of a mixture of black, brown and white hairs, sometimes giving the appearance of the dark saddle like that seen on the Black-backed Jackal. The underparts are a light pale ginger to cream colour. Individuals can be distinguished by their unique light markings on the throat and chest. The coats of Golden Jackals from high elevations tend to be more buff-coloured than those of their lowland counterparts while those of Golden Jackals in rocky and mountainous areas may exhibit a greyer shade. The bushy tail has a tan to black tip. Melanism can cause a dark-coloured coat in some Golden Jackals.
The Golden Jackal moults twice a year in spring and in autumn. The spring moult starts in the middle of February to as late as the middle of March and lasts for around 60 days. The spring moult commences with the head and limbs, extends to the flanks, chest, belly and rump, and ends at the tail. Fur on the underparts is absent. The autumn moult occurs from mid-September with the shedding of the summer fur and the growth of the winter fur. The development of the autumn coat starts with the rump and tail and spreads to the back, flanks, belly, chest, limbs and head with full winter fur being attained at the end of November.
The Golden Jackal is native to south east Europe, south west Asia, south Asia and parts of south east Asia.
The current European range mostly encompasses the Balkan region where habitat loss and mass poisoning caused it to become extinct in many areas during the 1960s with core populations only occurring in scattered regions such as Strandja in south east Bulgaria, the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, the Macedonian region of north Greece and the Peloponnese peninsula in south Greece. It recolonised its former territories in Bulgaria during the early 1960s when a large increase arose from the replacement of natural forests with dense scrub, an increase in animal carcasses from state game farms, reductions in wolf populations and the abandonment of poisoning campaigns. Bulgaria now has the largest population in Europe. It subsequently expanded its range into Romania and Serbia and thereafter in to Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia during the 1980s. The Golden Jackal is continuing to expand beyond south east Europe in to central Europe by occupying areas where there are few or no wolves. Recently, an isolated Golden Jackal population was confirmed in west Estonia, much further north than the principal range. Whether this is an introduced population or a natural migration is unknown.
To the east, the Golden Jackal’s range extends through Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, central Asia and the entire Indian sub-continent and then east and south to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and parts of Indochina.
The Golden Jackal is listed as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List due to its widespread distribution and with it being common throughout its range and with high densities in those areas where food and shelter are abundant.
In Europe, the Golden Jackal is not listed under the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora nor the 1979 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. It does fall under various international legal instruments. These include the 1979 Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and the 1992 European Union Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. The Council Directive provides both guidance and limits on what participating governments can do when responding to the arrival of expanding Golden Jackals. These legislative instruments aim to contribute to conserving native wildlife although some governments argue that the Golden Jackal is not native wildlife but an invading species.
The Golden Jackal's omnivorous diet allows it to eat a large range of foods and this diet, together with its tolerance of dry conditions, enables it to live in different habitats. It is both a predator and a scavenger and an omnivorous and opportunistic forager with a diet that varies according to its habitat and the season.
The Golden Jackal often hunts or forages alone, sometimes in pairs but rarely in a pack. When hunting alone, it trots around an area and occasionally stops to sniff and listen. Once prey is located, it conceals itself, quickly approaches its prey and then pounces on it. When hunting in pairs or packs, Golden Jackals run parallel to their prey and overtake it in unison. The peak times for hunting and foraging are the early morning and the late evening.
The Golden Jackal exhibits flexible social organization depending on the availability of food. The breeding pair is the basic social unit and they are sometimes accompanied by their current litter of pups. Family groups of up to 4 to 5 individuals have been recorded. The hunting ranges of several Golden Jackals can overlap. Individuals can travel up to around 10 miles during a single night in search of either food or more suitable habitat. Non-breeding members of a pack may stay near a distant food source, such as a carcass, for up to several days before returning to their home range. Home range sizes can vary between 0.4 to 7.75 square miles depending on the available food supply.
Social interactions such as greetings, grooming and group howling are common in the Golden Jackal. Howling is more frequent between December and April when pair bonds are being formed and breeding occurs suggesting that howling has a role in the delineation of territory and for defence. Adults howl standing and the young or subordinates howl sitting. The Golden Jackal is easily induced to howl and a single howl may solicit replies from several others in the vicinity. Howling begins with 2 to 3 low-pitched calls that rise to high-pitched calls. The howl consists of a wail repeated 3 to 4 times on an ascending scale followed by 3 short yelps. The Golden Jackal typically howls at dawn and in the evening. Social canids such as jackals, wolves and coyotes readily respond to human imitations of their howls.
The Golden Jackal is monogamous and it will remain with the one partner until death. Females have only one breeding cycle each year with the mating period lasting up to 26 to 28 days. Females are often pursued by several males that may quarrel among themselves. Mating results in a copulatory tie that lasts for several minutes as it does with all other canids. Gestation lasts 63 days and the timing of the births coincides with the annual abundance of food. In Europe, pups are generally born from late March to late April. The number of pups born in a single litter varies geographically but usually ranges from 3 to 8. The pups are born with closed eyes that open after 8 to 11 days with the ears erecting after 10 to 13 days. Their teeth erupt at 11 days after birth and the eruption of adult dentition is completed after 5 months. Pups are born with soft fur that ranges in colour from light grey to dark brown. At the age of 1 month, the fur is shed and replaced with a new reddish-coloured pelt with black speckles. Females possess 4 pairs of teats and lactation lasts for up to 8 to 10 weeks. The pups begin to eat meat at the age of 15 to 20 days. Once the lactation period concludes, the female drives off the pups. Pups born late remain with their mother until early autumn at which time they leave either singly or in groups of 2 to 4 individuals. Females reach sexual maturity after 10 to 11 months and males at 21 to 22 months.
Date: 16th May 2018
Location: Vetren, Silistra Province, Bulgaria
The Golden Jackal is similar to the Grey Wolf but it is distinguished by its smaller size, lighter weight, more elongated torso, less prominent forehead, shorter legs and tail and a muzzle that is narrower and more pointed. The legs are long in relation to its body and the feet are slender with small pads. Males measure 28 to 33 inches in body length and females 27 to 29 inches. Males weigh 13 to 31 pounds and females 15 to 24 pounds. The shoulder height is 18 to 20 inches for both. In comparison, the smallest wolf is the Arabian Wolf which weighs on average 44 pounds.
The fur of the Golden Jackal is coarse and relatively short with the base colour golden but varying seasonally from a pale creamy yellow to a dark tawny. The fur on the back is composed of a mixture of black, brown and white hairs, sometimes giving the appearance of the dark saddle like that seen on the Black-backed Jackal. The underparts are a light pale ginger to cream colour. Individuals can be distinguished by their unique light markings on the throat and chest. The coats of Golden Jackals from high elevations tend to be more buff-coloured than those of their lowland counterparts while those of Golden Jackals in rocky and mountainous areas may exhibit a greyer shade. The bushy tail has a tan to black tip. Melanism can cause a dark-coloured coat in some Golden Jackals.
The Golden Jackal moults twice a year in spring and in autumn. The spring moult starts in the middle of February to as late as the middle of March and lasts for around 60 days. The spring moult commences with the head and limbs, extends to the flanks, chest, belly and rump, and ends at the tail. Fur on the underparts is absent. The autumn moult occurs from mid-September with the shedding of the summer fur and the growth of the winter fur. The development of the autumn coat starts with the rump and tail and spreads to the back, flanks, belly, chest, limbs and head with full winter fur being attained at the end of November.
The Golden Jackal is native to south east Europe, south west Asia, south Asia and parts of south east Asia.
The current European range mostly encompasses the Balkan region where habitat loss and mass poisoning caused it to become extinct in many areas during the 1960s with core populations only occurring in scattered regions such as Strandja in south east Bulgaria, the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, the Macedonian region of north Greece and the Peloponnese peninsula in south Greece. It recolonised its former territories in Bulgaria during the early 1960s when a large increase arose from the replacement of natural forests with dense scrub, an increase in animal carcasses from state game farms, reductions in wolf populations and the abandonment of poisoning campaigns. Bulgaria now has the largest population in Europe. It subsequently expanded its range into Romania and Serbia and thereafter in to Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia during the 1980s. The Golden Jackal is continuing to expand beyond south east Europe in to central Europe by occupying areas where there are few or no wolves. Recently, an isolated Golden Jackal population was confirmed in west Estonia, much further north than the principal range. Whether this is an introduced population or a natural migration is unknown.
To the east, the Golden Jackal’s range extends through Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, central Asia and the entire Indian sub-continent and then east and south to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and parts of Indochina.
The Golden Jackal is listed as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List due to its widespread distribution and with it being common throughout its range and with high densities in those areas where food and shelter are abundant.
In Europe, the Golden Jackal is not listed under the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora nor the 1979 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. It does fall under various international legal instruments. These include the 1979 Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and the 1992 European Union Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. The Council Directive provides both guidance and limits on what participating governments can do when responding to the arrival of expanding Golden Jackals. These legislative instruments aim to contribute to conserving native wildlife although some governments argue that the Golden Jackal is not native wildlife but an invading species.
The Golden Jackal's omnivorous diet allows it to eat a large range of foods and this diet, together with its tolerance of dry conditions, enables it to live in different habitats. It is both a predator and a scavenger and an omnivorous and opportunistic forager with a diet that varies according to its habitat and the season.
The Golden Jackal often hunts or forages alone, sometimes in pairs but rarely in a pack. When hunting alone, it trots around an area and occasionally stops to sniff and listen. Once prey is located, it conceals itself, quickly approaches its prey and then pounces on it. When hunting in pairs or packs, Golden Jackals run parallel to their prey and overtake it in unison. The peak times for hunting and foraging are the early morning and the late evening.
The Golden Jackal exhibits flexible social organization depending on the availability of food. The breeding pair is the basic social unit and they are sometimes accompanied by their current litter of pups. Family groups of up to 4 to 5 individuals have been recorded. The hunting ranges of several Golden Jackals can overlap. Individuals can travel up to around 10 miles during a single night in search of either food or more suitable habitat. Non-breeding members of a pack may stay near a distant food source, such as a carcass, for up to several days before returning to their home range. Home range sizes can vary between 0.4 to 7.75 square miles depending on the available food supply.
Social interactions such as greetings, grooming and group howling are common in the Golden Jackal. Howling is more frequent between December and April when pair bonds are being formed and breeding occurs suggesting that howling has a role in the delineation of territory and for defence. Adults howl standing and the young or subordinates howl sitting. The Golden Jackal is easily induced to howl and a single howl may solicit replies from several others in the vicinity. Howling begins with 2 to 3 low-pitched calls that rise to high-pitched calls. The howl consists of a wail repeated 3 to 4 times on an ascending scale followed by 3 short yelps. The Golden Jackal typically howls at dawn and in the evening. Social canids such as jackals, wolves and coyotes readily respond to human imitations of their howls.
The Golden Jackal is monogamous and it will remain with the one partner until death. Females have only one breeding cycle each year with the mating period lasting up to 26 to 28 days. Females are often pursued by several males that may quarrel among themselves. Mating results in a copulatory tie that lasts for several minutes as it does with all other canids. Gestation lasts 63 days and the timing of the births coincides with the annual abundance of food. In Europe, pups are generally born from late March to late April. The number of pups born in a single litter varies geographically but usually ranges from 3 to 8. The pups are born with closed eyes that open after 8 to 11 days with the ears erecting after 10 to 13 days. Their teeth erupt at 11 days after birth and the eruption of adult dentition is completed after 5 months. Pups are born with soft fur that ranges in colour from light grey to dark brown. At the age of 1 month, the fur is shed and replaced with a new reddish-coloured pelt with black speckles. Females possess 4 pairs of teats and lactation lasts for up to 8 to 10 weeks. The pups begin to eat meat at the age of 15 to 20 days. Once the lactation period concludes, the female drives off the pups. Pups born late remain with their mother until early autumn at which time they leave either singly or in groups of 2 to 4 individuals. Females reach sexual maturity after 10 to 11 months and males at 21 to 22 months.
Date: 16th May 2018
Location: Vetren, Silistra Province, Bulgaria
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Also in: Bulgaria
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