Golden jackal

The golden jackal (Canis aureus), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. This animal has a coat that changes color with the seasons, from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a darker tawny beige in winter. It is smaller than wolves, with shorter legs and a more stretched-out body.

Although its name might suggest otherwise, the golden jackal is not closely related to African jackals. Instead, it is more closely linked to wolves and coyotes. Scientists believe its ancestors lived in southern Europe millions of years ago. Today, golden jackals are found across many parts of Eurasia, from India to Europe.

These animals are very adaptable and can live in many different habitats, including valleys, riverbanks, and even near lakes and seashores. They hunt a variety of foods, from fruit and insects to small animals, and sometimes they may attack farm animals. Golden jackals live in social groups, usually a pair and their young, and they are expanding their range into new areas of Europe.

Etymology and naming

The word 'jackal' started being used in English around the year 1600. It comes from a Turkish word called çakal, which itself comes from an even older Persian word, šagāl. This animal is also often called the common jackal.

Taxonomy

The family Canidae includes many types of animals like the South American canids, the fox-like canids, and the wolf-like canids. All wolf-like canids look quite similar and have 78 chromosomes, which means they can sometimes have babies together. The jackal group is part of the wolf-like canids and includes three types: the black-backed jackal, the side-striped jackal, and the golden jackal (Canis aureus). These three look very much alike, mostly differing in the color of their fur. They were once thought to live in different parts of Africa but we now know they share some areas, especially in East Africa.

Scientists study tiny parts inside cells called mitochondrial DNA to learn about family history. This helps them understand how animals are related. Studies show that the gray wolf and dogs are the closest relatives of the golden jackal, followed by the coyote and the Ethiopian wolf. The golden jackal comes from a line that split from wolves and coyotes about 1.9 million years ago.

Evolution

An old, extinct dog-like animal called the Arno river dog may have been the ancestor of today’s jackals. The oldest golden jackal fossil, a single tooth, was found near Beirut, Lebanon, and is about 7,600 years old. Other old fossils have been found in Greece. These fossils show that golden jackals have been around for a very long time.

Admixture with other Canis species

Golden jackals sometimes have babies with other animals like gray wolves and dogs. These mixes can look just like wolves or dogs but have a bit of jackal in them.

Subspecies and populations

The golden jackal was given its scientific name by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Since then, scientists have described 13 different types or subspecies of golden jackal.

Subspecies of Canis aureus

Subspecies	Trinomial authority	Trinomial authority (year)	Description	Distribution	Synonyms
Persian jackal C. a. aureus Nominate subspecies	Linnaeus	1758	Large, with soft, pale fur with predominantly sandy tones. The general color of the outer fur is usually black and white, while the underfur varies from pale brown to pale slate-grey. Occasionally, the nape and shoulders are of a buff color. The ears and front legs are buff, sometimes tan, while the feet are pale. The hind legs are more deeply tinted above the hocks. The chin and forethroat are usually whitish. Weight varies geographically, ranging around 8–10 kg (18–22 lb). In areas where it borders the range of the larger, more richly colored Indian jackal (particularly the area of Kumaun in India), animals of intermediate size and color sometimes appear.	Middle East, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Western India where its distribution overlaps with the Indian jackal to the north and the Sri Lankan/South Indian jackal to the south.	hadramauticus (Noack, 1896) kola (Wroughton, 1916) lanka (Wroughton, 1916) typicus (Kolenati, 1858) vulgaris (Wagner, 1841)
Indochinese jackal C. a. cruesemanni	Matschie	1900	The Indochinese jackal (also known as the Siamese jackal and the Southeast Asian golden jackal) has been disputed as a separate subspecies by some authors who state that its classification is based solely on observations of captive animals. In 2023, an mDNA study indicated that it was an early branching lineage of golden jackal which supports it being a subspecies. It is smaller than C. a. indicus, weighing up to 8 kg (18 lb). Its fur closely resembles that of a dog. It inhabits mountainous areas, near farms or residential forests, and its prey include small animals like birds, reptiles and frogs, besides occasionally eating fruits. One seller of two trapped jackals claimed that they killed ten piglets on his farm. It can be active in both day and night. Siamese jackals are solitary creatures, but a male and female will cooperate during mating season. It has few natural predators, though dholes are a major source of mortality.	Thailand
Indian jackal C. a. indicus	Hodgson	1833	Its fur is a mixture of black and white, with buff on the shoulders, ears and legs. The buff color is more pronounced in specimens from high altitudes. Black hairs predominate on the middle of the back and tail. The belly, chest and the sides of the legs are creamy white, while the face and lower flanks are grizzled with gray fur. Adults grow to a length of 100 cm (39 in), 35–45 cm (14–18 in) in height and 8–11 kg (18–24 lb) in weight.	India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan
European jackal C. a. moreoticus	I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire	1835	The largest golden jackal subspecies, animals of both sexes average 120–125 cm (47–49 in) in total length and 10–15 kg (22–33 lb) in body weight. The fur is coarse, and is generally brightly colored with blackish tones on the back. The thighs, upper legs, ears and forehead are bright-reddish chestnut.	Southeastern Europe, Moldova, Asia Minor and the Caucasus	graecus (Wagner, 1841) balcanicus (Brusina, 1892) caucasica (Kolenati, 1858) dalmatinus (Wagner, 1841)
Sri Lankan jackal C. a. naria	Wroughton	1916	Measures 67–74 cm (26–29 in) in length and weighs 5–8.6 kg (11–19 lb). The winter coat is shorter, smoother and not as shaggy as that of indicus. The coat is also darker on the back, being black and speckled with white. The underside is more pigmented on the chin, hind throat, chest and forebelly, while the limbs are rusty ochreous or a rich tan. Molting occurs earlier in the season than with indicus, and the pelt generally does not lighten in color.	Coastal South West India, Sri Lanka	lanka (Wroughton, 1838)
Syrian jackal C. a. syriacus	Hemprich and Ehrenberg	1833	Distinguished by its brown ears. The body fur is a yellow on the back, lighter on the sides, and whitish-yellow underneath. A dark band runs from the nose to the end of the tail. Measures 60–90 cm (24–35 in) in body length, 20–30 cm (7.9–11.8 in) in tail length, 15–18 cm (5.9–7.1 in) in head length, and weighs 5–12 kg (11–26 lb).	Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan

Description

The golden jackal looks similar to the gray wolf but is smaller and lighter. It has a longer body, shorter legs and tail, and a narrower, more pointed face. Males are a bit bigger than females, measuring about 71–85 cm in body length and weighing 6–14 kg, while females measure 69–73 cm and weigh 7–11 kg. Both have a shoulder height of 45–50 cm. In comparison, the smallest wolf, the Arabian wolf, is much heavier, weighing around 20 kg on average.

The golden jackal's skull is most like that of the dingo and is smaller and less strong than a wolf's skull. Its teeth are large but thinner than a wolf's, and it has weaker chewing teeth. This helps the jackal eat small birds, rodents, insects, carrion, fruit, and other plants. The fur changes color with the seasons, from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a darker tawny in winter. The back may look darker, and the underparts are lighter. The tail is bushy with a tan to black tip. Some jackals have dark fur due to a natural change in their genes. The golden jackal sheds its fur twice a year, once in spring and once in autumn.

Ecology

The golden jackal lives in Europe and parts of Asia. It can eat many different foods, which helps it survive in many places. Jackals can travel long distances to find food and can live without water for a long time. They are common in valleys, near rivers, and around lakes, but are not often found in dry, desert areas.

Jackals eat both animals and plants. In some places, they eat mostly small animals like rodents and birds, while in other places, they eat more plants like fruits and berries. They also sometimes eat food left behind by larger animals like lions and tigers.

Jackals share their homes with other animals, such as foxes and wolves. Wolves are stronger and often chase jackals away. Jackals are larger than foxes and usually stay away from them. Sometimes, jackals can help reduce the number of other animals that might be harmful.

Some jackals can carry germs that might make people sick, such as those that cause diseases like rabies. They can also carry tiny creatures that live inside them and might spread to other animals or people.

Behavior

Golden jackals live in flexible family groups. The basic family unit is a breeding pair, sometimes with their current litter of pups. In India, families can range from one jackal to more than three, with some groups having up to four or five jackals. They often mark their areas with scent by urinating and defecating, which helps defend their territory. Jackals can travel up to 12–15 km (7.5–9.3 mi) in a single night looking for food or better places to live. Their home ranges can vary between 1–20 km² (0.39–7.72 mi²), depending on how much food is available.

Jackals often greet each other, clean themselves, and howl together. Howling is especially common between December and April when pairs are forming and breeding. Howling helps define their territory and keep the group safe. Adult jackals howl while standing, and younger jackals howl while sitting. They usually howl at dawn, in the evening, and sometimes at midday. Jackals may also howl in response to sounds like church bells, sirens, or steam engine whistles. When the weather changes, they may produce a long, continuous chorus of howls. They give a special warning call when they sense large carnivores like wolves or tigers nearby.

Conservation

The golden jackal is considered safe because it is found in many places and has many where it has plenty of food and shelter. In Europe, golden jackals are not listed as needing special protection under some big agreements, but they are covered by other rules meant to help protect wildlife. Some countries think the golden jackal is not a normal part of their wildlife but an intruder.

There are about 70,000 golden jackals in Europe. Some countries fully protect them, while others allow hunting. In Syria, jackal numbers went down because of efforts against a sickness, and now it's hard to know how many are left because they might mix with other dogs. In India, there are over 80,000 golden jackals, and they are protected by laws to stop people from trading their fur and tails.

Relationships with humans

In folklore, mythology and literature

Golden jackals appear in Indian folklore and in two ancient texts, the Jakatas and the Panchatantra, where they are shown as clever and tricky creatures. The old Hindu text, the Mahabharata, tells a story about a smart jackal who turns its friends—the tiger, wolf, mongoose, and mouse—against each other so it can eat a gazelle alone. The Panchatantra has a tale of a jackal outsmarting a wolf and a lion to keep food for itself. In Buddhist stories, jackals are seen as clever, much like foxes in European tales. One well-known Indian saying calls the jackal “the sharpest among beasts, the crow among birds, and the barber among men.” For someone traveling early in the morning, hearing a jackal howl was thought to be a good sign, as was seeing a jackal cross the road from the left.

In Hinduism, jackals are linked to several gods and goddesses. They are often shown as the animal companion of Chamunda, a strong goddess. Another goddess, Kali, is also connected to jackals. The goddess Shivaduti is shown with a jackal’s head, and Durga is sometimes linked to them too. Jackals are thought to carry protective gods and goddesses, especially in Tibet. In a flood story from the Kamar people in Raipur district, India, the god Mahadeo (Shiva) sent a flood to punish a jackal that had upset him. In Rudyard Kipling’s Mowgli stories from The Jungle Book, the character Tabaqui is a jackal that the wolf pack does not like because of how he acts and because he helps the tiger Shere Khan.

Attacks on humans

In the Marwahi forest in Chhattisgarh, India, there were no reports of jackal attacks on people before 1997. Between 1998 and 2005, however, there were 220 reports of jackal attacks, though none were serious. Most of these attacks happened in villages, with some in forests and crop fields. Jackals make their homes in rocky hills near flat areas, but these areas have been taken over by farms and homes. This has pushed jackals into places where people live, causing problems. People in these areas often chase jackals away, which can make the jackals act more aggressively. Female jackals with babies were more likely to attack than lone males. During the same time, there were more attacks by sloth bears, but still, no attacks in Europe.

Livestock, game, and crop predation

Golden jackals can be a problem for farm animals like turkeys, lambs, sheep, goats, and young domestic water buffalo calves. They also hunt young animals such as roe deer, hares, coypu, pheasants, francolins, grey partridges, bustards, and waterfowl. Jackals damage crops like grapes, coffee, maize, and sugarcane, and eat watermelons, muskmelons, and nuts. In Greece, jackals are less harmful to farm animals than wolves and foxes, but they can be a bother to small animals when there are many of them. In southern Bulgaria, over 1,000 attacks on sheep and lambs were reported between 1982 and 1987, along with some damage to young deer on farms. The harm done by jackals in Bulgaria was small compared to losses from wolves. About 1.5–1.9% of calves born in the Golan Heights die because of animals like jackals. This high rate of attacks in Bulgaria and Israel is because there are no measures to stop it, and food left in illegal garbage attracts jackals, causing their numbers to grow.

Jackals are very harmful to animals with fur, such as coypu and muskrats. They can almost get rid of coypu in shallow water. Between 1948 and 1949 in the Amu Darya, jackals’ waste showed that muskrats made up 12.3% of what they ate, and 71% of muskrat homes were destroyed by jackals. Jackals also hurt the fur industry by eating trapped muskrats or taking skins left out to dry.

Hunting

During British rule in India, people hunted golden jackals from horseback using dogs, as a way to replace fox hunting from England. They were not as beautiful as English red foxes but were valued for how long they could run—one chase could last over three and a half hours. India’s weather and land made hunting harder than in England. The dogs in India were not always in the best shape, and even though jackals smell strong, the land in northern India did not hold the scent well. Unlike foxes, jackals sometimes acted like they were dead when caught and could fight hard to protect their friends.

Jackals were hunted in three ways: with greyhounds, with foxhounds, and with mixed groups of dogs. Hunting with greyhounds was not very fun because they were too fast for jackals, and mixed groups were hard to control. Starting in 1946 in Iraq, British diplomats and Iraqi riders hunted jackals together. They described three types of jackals: the “city scavenger,” which was slow and smelled so bad that dogs did not want to follow them; the “village jack,” which was faster, more alert, and less smelly; and the “open-country jack,” which was the fastest, cleanest, and provided the best hunt of all.

Some local people in India, like the Kolis and Vagris of Gujarat and Rajasthan and the Narikuravas in Tamil Nadu, hunt and eat golden jackals, but most cultures in South Asia think of them as unclean. Orthodox dharma texts say people should not eat jackals because they have five nails. In areas of the former Soviet Union, jackals are not often hunted and are usually caught by accident when hunting other animals, using traps or shooting. In Transcaucasia, jackals are caught with big fishing hooks baited with meat, hung about 75–100 cm (30–39 in) off the ground. Jackals can only reach the meat by jumping, and then they get hooked on their lip or jaw.

Fur use

In Russia and other countries from the former Soviet Union, golden jackals are thought of as animals with low-quality fur because it is sparse, rough, and the same color. Jackal fur has very little fiber, so their skins look flat. Jackals in Asia and the Middle East have the roughest fur, but this can be improved during processing. Elburz in northern Iran has the softest fur. Jackal skins are not graded to a fur standard and are used to make collars, women’s coats, and fur coats. In the 1880s, 200 jackals were caught each year in Mervsk and the Zakatal area of the Transcaucasus, with 300 caught there in 1896. During that time, 10,000 jackals were caught in Russia, and their fur was sent only to the Nizhegorod fair. In the early 1930s, 20,000–25,000 jackal skins were tanned each year in the Soviet Union, but they could not be used there, so most were sent to the United States. Starting in 1949, all of these skins were used inside the Soviet Union.

Sulimov dog

Long ago, golden jackals may have been tamed in Neolithic Turkey about 11,000 years ago, as shown by a sculpture of a person holding a jackal found in Göbekli Tepe. French explorers in the 1800s noted that people in the Levant kept golden jackals as pets. The Kalmyk people near the Caspian Sea often mixed their dogs with jackals, and Balkan shepherds also mixed their sheepdogs with jackals.

In 1924, the Russian military started the Red Star kennels to improve working dogs and study military dogs. They created “Laikoid” dogs by mixing Spitz-type Russian Laikas with German Shepherds. By the 1980s, Russia found that its bomb and drug-detection dogs were not good enough. Klim Sulimov, a scientist, began mixing dogs with their wild relatives to improve their ability to find smells. He thought that during domestication, dogs had lost some of their smell-finding skills because they no longer needed to find food. Sulimov mixed European jackals with Laikas and also with fox terriers to add trainability and loyalty. He chose jackals because he believed they were the wild ancestor of dogs, had better smell-finding abilities, and, being smaller and more enduring, could live outside in Russia’s climate. Sulimov liked a mix of one quarter jackal and three quarters dog. His program continues today, with the hybrid Sulimov dogs used at Sheremetyevo Airport near Moscow by the Russian airline Aeroflot.

The hybrid program has been questioned. One of Sulimov’s colleagues said that in other tests, Laikas did just as well as the jackal hybrids. The idea that dogs lost some of their smell-finding skills might be wrong because dogs need to find many humans they meet in their everyday lives. Another researcher mixed German Shepherds with wolves and said that hybrid had better smell-finding abilities. There is not much scientific proof to back up the claims of hybrid researchers, and more study is needed.