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News about the dangers anddamages caused by golden jackalare becomign more frequent, theyare almost common place now-adays. Most of theese deal withproblems in game management andhunting, but the number of injuredperson in agricultural the sector isalso increasing. More and morefarmers complain of attack ofgolden jackal against livestock.

Most of these news talk about,that:– "Jackal attacks againt livestock

started about 6 years ago, andit’s getting worse and worsefrom year to year… "

– "250 sheeps were killed bygolden jackal … farmers areterrifying”

– "The golden jackal decimatessheep populations in Somogycounty. Some farmers are indispair. They plan to half theirflock.”

– "His dogs chase away red fox,but they are afraid of jackals.He thinks that he cannot protectsheep from jackals.”

– "Jackals murdered in Somogycounty”

It is very exasperating that someof the professional media publishedthe following: "…all that glitters isnot gold – "jackal-crime” inSomogy county”

To the contrary one of the latestnews reports states that "Notjackals killed sheep at all (It’sunimaginable that jackal can causesuch destruction was written innews earlier…)”.

To finish the stgring of events,an extraordinary news item waspublished: A lame jackal wasreceived into a flock recently inBaranya county…

In this paper our aim was toproduce a real image – in contrastto boulevard news with a lack ofany professional knowledge –based on results of the last decadestudy in Hungary paralell tointernational issues. We’d like toshow the life style of the jackal,focused on it’s feeding habit.Finally it’s not a hidden intend tohelp the reader to form an opinionif the complaints were justifiedabout the damage in livestockcaused by golden jackal.

Jackals over borders…

Over the last three decades thedistribution of the jackal hasincreased significantly in Europe,particularly in the northern andwestern territories of the BalkanPeninsula and in Central Europeespecially in Hungary. In contrast,jackals in Greece have experienceda large-scale population decline,becoming the rarest canid speciesin the country. Causes of declineare related to fundamental changesin agro-pastoral activities thattaking place in the last 25–30 yearsin low land Greece, reducing bothhabitat and food availability. InIsrael, jackal population size hasbeen largely dependent on humanactivity. After a poisoning cam-paign in 1964 (which resulted inan almost complete extermination

of jackals) a quick populationrecovery was noted, thanks to therise in human standard of living,increased numbers of open garbagedumps and improper husbandrywaste disposal. The Bulgarianjackal population experienced a33–fold increase in range from theearly sixties to mid-eighties. Thecauses of this rapid expansionamong others were reported toplanting of scattered coniferousstands which formed very denseimpenetrable scrub, the highlyincreased food base in the form ofdomestic and game animalcarcasses from the state gamefarms.

…and inside the bordersof Hungary

Papers and notes about goldenjackal observations and shoots areavailable in extremely smallquantities in Hungary since the firstquarter of the XIX century. Inreference to these papers it can bedeclared that golden jackal as anative predator of the Carpathian-base has been occured at all timesin a low density and in patches inour country.

It was considered as a scarcepredator at the turn of the century,the last known female was shot inthe eastern part of Hungary(Derecske) in 1942. There wereonly 5 official observations andshots in the following decades, butthose were young males. As aconsequence of no breeding pairshave been known of for

1Szent István University, Institute for Wildlife Conservation, 2103 Gödöllô, Páter Károly str 1.2University of Kaposvár, Departement of Nature Conservation, 7400 Kaposvár, Guba Sándor str. 40.

László Szabó1, Miklós Heltai1 and József Lanszki2

Jackal Versus Livestock – Is it a Real Problem?

approximately 50 years, goldenjackal was listed in the HungarianRed Data Book in 1989 as anextinct species.

The main causes of itsdisappearance are the high degreeland reconstructions, river controls,changing the agricultural produc-tion on a drastic level (hugh fields,increased chemicals, brakingfallow lands). Due to these changesthe suitable habitat of the jackalwas decreased and disappeared.Chasing and systematic massacre –using illegal tools and methods – ofthe predators were also conduciveto become extinct.

Observations became frequentmainly in the southern part ofHungary, close to the Serbian andCroatian border in the early ’90s.Then breeding pairs appeared in1994. The golden jackal populationhas been increasing since then,resettling and spreading show anexponential character (Szabó et al.2009).

Livestock predation in the world

However, the impact ofpredation varies dramatically withregion. In Africa, Australia, theAmericas, and parts of Europe andAsia predators can be a seriousproblem. In contrast, some nationsare virtually devoid of sheeppredators. Worldwide, canids—including the domestic dog—areresponsible for the majority ofsheep deaths. Other animals thatoccasionally prey on sheep include:felines, bears, birds of prey, ravens,feral dogs and hyenas. Sheep havevery little ability to defend them-selves, even when compared withother prey species kept as livestock.Even if sheep are not directly bittenor survive an attack, they may diefrom panic or from injuriessustained.

Jackal predation

The jackal in Europe isdistributed in small and scattered

populations, mainly along theMediterranean and Black Sea coastof the Balkan Peninsula (Demeter& Spassov 1993). Most of thejackals were concentrated in theeastern parts of the peninsulamainly in Bulgaria.

Habitat conditions are usuallywell indicated by the dietcomposition and feeding habits ofpredators. The jackal is a typicalfood generalist carnivore. Its mainfood source comprises of smallmammals, wild ungulates or livestock (young and carrion), andperiodically invertebrates, birdsand fruit. Depending on foodavailability, jackals may be solitaryhunters, co-operate in pairs or huntas groups (mainly while the parentsteach the offsprings to hunt). Jackalcan’ t run persistent like the wolf, itis derived from its anatomy(relatively short legs). That is whyjackal attack from ambush mainly.On the other hand it is oftenreported in boulevard news that

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Picture 1: Golden Jackal (Photo by József Lanszki)

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jackal can chase its prey at a speedof 40 kilometres an hour.

In Bulgaria most of the attackson livestock happened in the flocksof sheep that grazed unattended atnight in 17 pastures. In the southernpart of Bulgaria, 1,053 attacks onsmall stock, mainly sheep andlambs were recorded between1982-87. In this case the highpredation rate is thought to be theconsequence of a jackal populationexplosion due to the availability offood in illegal garbage dumps.Beside this, high level depredationwas helped by the lack ofpreventative measures. However,the highest damages by jackals areminimal when compared to thedomestic animal losses by wolves.

Yom-Tov et al. (1995) give an

account of cattle predation in theGolan Heights in Israel. App-roximately 2% of the calves borndie due to predation, mainly byGolden Jackals. Three-quarters ofattacks occur within 2 days afterbirth. 31% of deaths occurredduring delivery or several hoursafter it, 32% during the first dayafter delivery and 12% during thesecond day. Thirteen percent of calfdeaths occurred within 2–10 daysand 11% within 11–30 days afterdelivery. A difference was foundbetween sexes. Male calves areusually more likely to be attackedthan females, because they areheavier and more difficult todeliver. Female cattle giving birthare sometimes attacked along withtheir half born offspring. Mainly

the face and tongue of calves areattacked during delivery, while thecalf is still partly in the womb. Inspite of that death is principallycaused by opening the posteriorpart of it’s abdomen after delivery.In some cases the mother's vaginalarea is also damaged and severalcows had to be destroyed becauseof serious injuries.

In the Golan Heighs seriouspredation level was found againstcattles. In all probability thissituation could have developedbecause of almost unlimited foodresources for jackals. There are onlytwo official garbage dumps, butmore than 70 illegal dumps werefound. In several cases there weretwo or three dumps near onesettlement. These dumps contain

Figure 1: Changing of the hunting bag in Hungary 1997–2009 (source: Hungarian Game Management Database,Gödöllô)

COUNTRY

R2 = 0,95

TRANSDANUBIA

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EAST FROM RIVER DANUBE

R2 = 0,91

0

100

200

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400

500

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1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

hu

nti

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Country TransdanubiaEast from river Danube Expon. (Country)

domestic refuse, construction andpacking materials, but alsoagricultural waste including fruit andvegetable surplus and dead turkeys,hens, calves and cows. It is likely tohelped the jackal populationincreasing in this territory.

On the other hand the cattlegrazed unattended all year roundin paddocks and gave birth in thefield, so the opportunistic jackalswould learn to exploit newborncalves.

Giannatos et al. (2005) reportedthat the only area in Greece isPeloponnese where predation byjackals on small livestock occurred.Damages happened in those areas

where the jackal populationoccurred in marginal mountainoushabitat and the sheep and goatsgrazed unattended at night. Straydogs and jackals are the onlypredators that could prey on smallhoofed livestock, since wolveshave been eradicated. So all theprevention measures are missing.Nonetheless, according to localshepherds only a very little damagewas recorded and does occur iscaused mostly by isolated roamingindividuals.

On the contrary, in areas withhigh jackal densities (Mornos,Northern Greece, Samos) thepreventive methods used at night

(keeping of sheep and goats inenclosures, using guarding dogs).Jackal groups or individuals havebeen radio tracked or seen oftenclose to sheep pens, around cattleand nearby chicken pens at night,but no complaints for losses by thefarmers.

Strength of negligible damagesthe predation on livestock byjackals is sooner local a minimal inGreece.

Feeding habits of the goldenjackal

Beside the observations,shepherd’s report and questionnaire

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Picture 2: Golden Jackal (Photo by József Lanszki)

surveys it is very important to studythe feeding habit of the jackal byscientific methods. In the next parta few researches will be shown indifferent countries and periods. Theprocedure was the same: scatanalysis was used to get to knowthe diet of this carnivore.

1. "Domestic problems” in threecountries-three habitat types

First, feeding habits werecompared in Hungary (temperateclimate agricultural area), Greece(Mediterranean marshland), andIsrael (Mediterranean agriculturalarea). Samples (84, 70 and 64scats, respectively) were collectedlate autumn. Large differenceswere detected in the consumptionof domestic animals between thethree study areas. According tobiomass, the highest rates wererecorded in Israel (74.0%), slightlylower in Greece (62.6%) andsubstantially lower levels inHungary (1.4%). In Israel,domestic animal food type wasdominated by poultry followed byeggs, cow and cat. In Greecejackals consumed mostly goats,sheep, poultry, dogs (2.9%) andcats. Cat and poultry consumptionwas also detected in the Hungariansamples.

According to the studies byYom-Tov et al. (1995), domesticanimals along with small mammalswere the most important dietarycomponents of jackals in Israel.Small mammals were found to be amain food source also inKazakhstan, Azerbaijan andUzbekistan, India, Bangladesh(Jaeger et al. 2007) as well as inTanzania close to the equator. Inthe studied area of Greece withextensive grazing and Israel with ahigh density of poultry farming, theprimary foods of jackals werehuman related animals, mainly goatand poultry (respectively). Whilejackals are able to hunt the young

of domestic ungulates especiallyduring their birth season (Stenin etal. 1983, Yom-Tov et al. 1995) orpoultry, direct predation by jackalson goat (grazing stocks) andpoultry was minimal in the studyareas in Greece and Israel. Theconsumption of domestic animals(excluding domestic dog anddomestic cat) cannot be at tributedto seasonal predation, but rather tocarcasses left in the field (Greece)and around poultry farms (Israel)which are consequently cleared upby the scavenging jackals (Mac-donald 1979). Presently, grazingand carcass dumping isuncharacteristic in the Hungarianstudy area. The results of lowdomestic animal consumption inHungary and high in the twoMediterranean areas are inaccordance with results fromearlier studies carried out in theregions (Macdonald 1979, Lanszkiet al. 2006).

Variability in plant consump-tion was detected between theregions. Although jackals ateplants most frequently in Israel(olive, grape and sunflower:41.5%), second most in Greece(blackthorn and maize mainly:39.0%) and the least in Hungary(mainly Blackthorn: 28.7%).

2. Diet composition of goldenjackals during cub-rearing seasonin Greek marshland

Ninety-five scat samples werecollected in Greece betweenNovember–December 2006.According to a biomass calculationcloser to the quantitativecomposition of the consumed food,the most important food for thejackals was made up of two equallyimportant taxa. One of them isdomestic animals (35.8%, biomasscalculation), and the other is birds(35.6%). The dominance of thesetwo food taxa was not typical inother studies, especially in the cub

raising period. Only in Israel(Yom-Tov et al. 1995) and inBulgaria the consumption ofdomestic animals and domesticanimal remains considerable. InGreece, the most important werethe goats among the domesticanimals, and medium-sized birds(probably mostly waterfowl,Anseriformes) among the birds.Consumption of juvenile goat wasprovable at least one case (byconsumed and defecated clovenhoof), but the circumstances of thisevent were unknown (no decom-posing insect remains were foundin the scat sample). Considerableconsumption of birds was onlyexperienced in Azerbaijan. Jackalsare not persecuted in the study area,and it is considered an indifferentspecies by the local farmers; sincethe jackal direct predation onlivestock is minimal in the area, sothe consumption of domesticanimals cannot be attributed topredation, but to carcasses left inthe feld.

In conclusion, jackals living inMediterranean sandy seashoremoorlands in Greece, feed theircubs with a diverse diet,supporting their opportunistfeeding habits. In contrast withmost Eurasian and African studies(review: Demeter and Spassov1993), the consumption ofdomestic ungulate corpses andwaterfowl was important, and theconsumption of smaller (less than100g) prey and plants werefrequent, but less important in thecub raising period.

3. Results in Hungary between 2001and 2004

Despite others, unique resultwere noted in a hungarian study inBaranya county after analysing 814collected scats.

Small mammals were generallythe most important food of goldenjackal (seasonal mean 70–90% ofconfused biomass) ranging bet-

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ween 37% and 97% in the scatsamples. The main prey was thecommon vole (Microtus arvalis).Wild ungulates (0–43%) especiallywild boar (mainly piglets in thespring) was the second mostimportant food, whereas there wasa low presence of cervids in thescat samples of the jackal.Domestic animals (mainly cattleand pig carcasses, rarely domesticcats) were eaten occasionally andgenerally in small amounts(0–29%). In contrast to experiencesin the Balkans and the Middle East(Demeter and Spassov 1993; Yom-Tov et al., 1995) with the exceptionof occasional sheep grazing, nodepredation on livestock wasrecorded in this study. Becausesheep were housed at night in anearby village and animalhusbandry was not extensive, onlythe scavenging from a dump wasconfirmed (Lanszki et al 2006).

Is there a solution – defendingmethods and possibilities

Sheep producers have used awide variety of measures to try tocombat predation throughouthistory. In the past shepherds hadonly the most basic of tools: theirown presence, livestock guardiandogs. Beside these they usedprotective structures, fencing andbarns. Fencing (both mechanic andelectric), penning sheep at nightand lambing indoors all continue tobe widely–used methods ofprotection today. Whereassheepdogs herd sheep, guardiandogs are trained to integrate in toflocks and protect them frompredators.

Donkeys and guard llamas havebeen used since the 1980s in sheepoperations, using the same basicprinciple as guardian dogs. Horsesand cattles also help to deter

predators, even if such species donot actively guard sheep. Moreoverthe focus in dealing with predatorsshifted to the nearly exclusive useof guns, traps, and poisons to killpredators.

During acoustic survey (inGreece and in Hungary) scientistsfound that dogs become veryagressive when a jackal howling isheard. They noted many times thatdog groups approched thevocalization point while they werebarking provocative after theplayback. The reaction of unleadeddogs in close quarters with jackalswas to chase them away instantly.

It is important to mention thatseveral international study provethat guardian dogs not just chaseaway jackals from the farm, butthey killed them sometimes.

But the especial importance isto choose the most suitable type ofdog. Its not enough to use a small

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Picture 3: Golden Jackal (Photo by Andrea Lippai)

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drive-dog, because bigger guardiandogs (e.g. hungarian types: kuvasz,komondor) are able to fight againstpredators. Sometimes farmers saythat their dogs are afraid of jackals.It is very hard to believe, if wecompare the body weight of goldenjackal (10–15kgs) to kuvasz orkomondor (40–60 kgs). On theother hand sepherds use these dogsfor centuries successfully againstwolf and brown bear.

Most of the hunters recognizethe golden jackal in all probabilityin Hungary nowadays. But wethink that it is very difficult to stateunambiguously whether a jackal ora dog killed the prey. It’s probablethat it is such a serious problem incase of animal husbandry. Not allthe farmers know the different kindof attacks. The most typical methodof the attack is a bite to the throatand choke. So, sometimes it can bepossible to identify (or to rule out)the predator species strenght of theinjury, the distance of the eye-teeth.The two teeth are 25–30 mmsapart, so in case of 35–45 mm it issure that the agressor wasn’t ajackal – as it happened rarely.

It is well-known that stray dogscould be extremely dangerous ongame species and livestock. On thebasis of the Hungarian GameManagement Database 47,000stray dogs were brought down onaverage annually between 1969and 2003. There was a constitu-tional court decision (64/2003.(XII. 18.)) in 2004 which increasedthe severity of stray dog hunting.Thanks to this decision the huntingof dogs decreased ~70% in thenext five years (2009: 11467 indi-vidual). It is probable that it doesnot mean the number of stay dogshas decreased to by a third, butthere are three times more dogsliving in the hunting territories

than shot in a year on average. Soit is possible that dogs areresponsible for the attacks insteadof jackals in several cases. Duringthe above mentioned survey inIsrael researchers tried to identifythe predator which caused thedeath of calves. In this study (for64 calves) at least 70% of theattacks were carried out by jackalsand the rest by either feral dogs(20%) or wolves (10%). In fewcases stray dogs were causingdamage to small stock animals,which were attributed to jackals.

We have to mention theproblem of increasing poaching. Itis difficult to do a well-plannedgame management in this case, soits easy to find a scapegoat, whichhas become the golden jackalseveral times.

In conclusion, we found the dietof the jackal to be diverse andfeeding habits to be extremelyflexible. These patterns variedbetween study locations andseemed to be driven byopportunistic feeding habitstargeting the most easily accessiblefood source. In more humaninfluenced land scapes ofMediterranean Greece, comprisingof partly natural and partlycultivated (pastured) areas, jackaldietary composition was dominatedby domestic ungulate carcassesoriginating from open dumps andwild boar from the marshland andthickets. Jackals residing in thehuman-dominated landscapes ofIsrael were found to take fulladvantage of available resources,specifically the dominant presenceof poultry carcasses and plantsfrom agricultural plots, and wereable to thrive and maintain anextremely dense population. This isin accordance with other studiesthat demonstrate that the species

could flourish where human wasteis abundant and food is no longer alimiting resource (Yom-Tov etal.1995).

So, it is clear, that by using thedefending methods (among others:fence, dogs, checking, nightpenning… etc.) the damage causedby predators on livestock could bedecreasing successfully.

References

Demeter, A., Spassov, N.,1993. Canis aureus Linnaeus,1758. In: Niethammer, J., Krapp,F. (Eds.), Handbuch der SaugetiereEuropas. Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden,pp. 107–138.

Giannatos, G., Marinos, Y.,Maragou, P., Catsadorakis, G.,(2005): The status of the goldenjackal (Canis aureus L.) in Greece.Belg. J. Zool. 135, 145–149.

Lanszki, J., GiorgosGiannatos, Amit Dolev, GiladBino and Miklós Heltai (2010):Late autumn trophic flexibilityof the golden jackal Canis aureus.Acta Theriologica 55 (4):361–370

Lanszki, J., M. Heltai,. Szabó,L. (2006): Feeding habits andtrophic niche overlap betweensympatric golden jackal (Canisaureus) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes)in the Pannonian ecoregion(Hungary). Canadian Journal ofZoology 84 (11): 1647–1656

Szabó L., Heltai M., Szûcs E.,Lanszki J. and Lehoczki R.(2009): Expansion range of goldenjackal in Hungary between 1997and 2006. Mammalia 73. p.307–311

Yom-Tov, Y., Ashkenazi, S.,Viner, O. (1995): Cattle predationby the golden jackal Canis aureusin the Golan Heights, Israel. Biol.Conserv. 7, 19–22.