Screaming Animal: Golden Jackal

The golden jackal is a highly visible animal, especially in various Terai regions of Nepal. In the evening or at night, the animal makes a loud howl. When they scream, children get scared or when they are sleeping soundly at night. Local residents wake up after this animal screams. In the Terai, the  jackal screams in groups, which sound like a person is weeping.

Rapidly Expanding

The golden jackal is an important and rapidly expanding species. The most important aspect is the zoonotic potential of the species reported in the golden jackal. Different parasites are known from golden jackals in their geographic range and some groups may spread during their distribution. This increases the risk of cross-infection with other carnivores or humans. Some of these parasites are  Echinococcus spp, Hookworms, Toxocara spp. or Trichinella spp., which has a large public health impact.

The golden jackal is a medium-sized canid species. Factors facilitating the territorial expansion of the golden jackal are unclear, but land use, climate change, and lack of interspecific competition have been suggested. Golden Jackals have an opportunistic feeding behavior with a highly varied diet. They hunt or kill small mammals, birds and their eggs, amphibians, reptiles, even invertebrates and take their prey when available. Sometimes foxes also eat vegetables or fruits. For the same reason, these golden jackals roam at night in human-populated areas.

Golden jackals are known to host a large spectrum of viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens. A literature survey shows that published studies on golden jackal parasites are usually limited to one country or, more commonly, one region and lack this potential overview.

The golden jackal is native to Southeast Europe, Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in colour from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark yellow wedge in winter. It has shorter legs, a shorter tail, a much longer torso, a less prominent forehead and a narrower and longer muzzle than the Arabian wolf.

It is also believed that the ancestor of the golden jackal is the Arno River dog that inhabited southern Europe 1.9 million years ago. Genetic studies show that the golden jackal spread from India around the end of the last glacial maximum, about 20,000 years ago. The oldest known fox fossil was found in the Kerakil Chattan (rock) shelter near Beirut in Lebanon which is 7,600 years old. The oldest golden jackal fossil in Europe was found in Greece and is 7000 years old.

There are seven species of golden fox: 1. Persian Jackal 2. Indochinese Jackal 3 Pannonian Jackal 4. Indian Jackal 5. European Jackal 6. Sri Lankan Jackal 7. Syrian Jackal.

One of the reasons golden jackals howl at night or in the evening is to establish territories: in essence they are saying we live here. By broadcasting over long distances, they avoid actual collisions. Howling is prominent when a pair needs to establish a good territory where breeding takes place. Most golden jackals live in small family groups, sometimes just one pair, but often a mated pair and their young adult offspring. 

Within the wolf-like canids is the fox group, which includes three foxes: the black-backed fox (Lupulella mesomela), the side striped fox (Bannis adunsta), and the golden jackal (Banis oirius). These three species are roughly the same size, have similar dental and skeletal morphology, and are primarily coat colours distinguished from each other.

Genetic analysis reveals that mating sometimes occurs between female foxes and grey wolves, and experts in producing fox-wolf hybrids cannot distinguish between blind wolves. Hybridization also occurs between female golden jackals and male foxes, producing fertile offspring. Here, 11 to 13 percent of the ancient gene flow came from golden jackals populations that were ancestral to wolves and dogs, and another 3 percent from present-day wolf populations. The golden jackal was classified by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 publication Systema Naturae. 13 subspecies have since been described.

Especially in South Asia, the golden jackal is found in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and India.

About 80% of the jackal's main diet consists of rodents, reptiles and fruits. Vegetables and fruits produced by farmers are also part of the jackal's diet. Golden jackal den areas and the trails they frequent are scent-marked through urine and faeces. Scent marks are thought to aid in territorial defence, and the hunting ranges of many jackals may overlap. 

Jackals can travel up to 12 to 15 kilometres in a single night in search of food and more suitable habitat. Non-breeding members of the pack may remain near a distant food source, such as a carcass, for several days before returning to their home range. Home range sizes can vary between 1 and 20 km depending on the food available.

Social interactions such as greeting, grooming, and collective howling are common among jackals. Howling is more frequent between December and April. When pair bonds are formed and breeding occurs, that suggests the role of shouting is for territory delineation and defence. Adult jackals howl standing and young or subordinate ones howl sitting. Foxes are easily motivated to scream and a single sound can elicit responses from several ones in the vicinity. High-pitched calls followed by 2 or 3 low-pitched howling calls. Lamentations are repeated 3 to 4 times on an ascending scale.

Aborigines of neighbouring India, such as the Kolis and Vadhirs of Gujarat and Rajasthan, and the Narikurans of Tamil Nadu, hunt and eat the golden jackal, and even poach it in the Terai region of Nepal.

Similar To Gray Wolf

The golden jackal is similar to the gray wolf but has a smaller size, lighter weight, and a very long body, with a body length of 71 to 85 cm for males and 69 to 73 cm for females. Males weigh 6 to 14 kg and females weigh 7 to 11 kg. Shoulder height is 45 to 50 cm for males and females. Its head is more like a dingo and it is more like a coyote than a black-backed fox. It is listed as the Least Concern group  on the IUCN Red List due to its wide distribution and high density of abundant food and optimal shelter areas.

According to Sagar Dahal, the golden jackal is found in the lowlands and mid-hills of Nepal. During his research, Dahal has seen Jackals in fields, forests, riverbanks, open fields, etc. where humans live. Jackals are known to scurry while driving or walking near villages in the evening terai province. According to Dahal, jackals are mainly killed by poisoning them in return for hunting chickens. Jackals are shy, but rabies can be transmitted to humans if bitten by a it. 

 I myself stayed over one month  in December and January taking pictures of the animals seen in the Terai region. While visiting the various villages of Rupandehi and Kapilvastu districts villages, I saw jackals roaming alone and far away in the open fields. As the golden jackal is a very shy animal, it was very difficult to photograph it up close. I was successful in identifying the habitat of these animals, especially when going to that place at night and in the morning.

(Dhungana is a senior wildlife photographer and writer.)