- A new study on the dietary habits of golden jackals suggests that their wide-ranging diet may be contributing to their successful distribution and survival.
- The presence of golden jackals at high altitudes in the Himalayas indicates that climate change and increased food availability may be enabling them to move to higher elevations.
- More studies are needed to understand the interactions between meso-predators at higher altitudes.
In a resource-stressed and competitive world, the golden jackal follows a simple survival strategy: eat just about anything. Their wide distribution is a testament to the effectiveness of this no-holds-barred approach to food. Golden jackals are distributed across northern Africa, Eurasia, and parts of Europe. In addition to their diverse diet, they’ve honed other survival traits, such as avoiding direct competition and maintaining a low profile. These traits have allowed them to thrive in diverse ecosystems such as semi-deserts, grasslands, savannahs, forests, and mangroves, as well as agricultural, rural, and semi-urban habitats.
Golden jackals (Canis aureus) have a remarkably broad diet, ranging from plant material to livestock carcasses, birds, and human leftovers, according to a new study. Bilal A. Bhat, one of the study authors and an assistant professor of zoology at the University of Kashmir, notes that golden jackals were once commonly found across Kashmir, making their presence felt through their distinct nighttime howls. However, they now seem to have vanished, prompting Bhat to investigate their dietary pattern. “Wildlife in Kashmir is experiencing significant habitat loss. Given the important ecological role that golden jackals play—such as controlling prey populations—it’s crucial to study this species,” Bhat explains.
A large buffet
The paper examines the feeding ecology of golden jackals in Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Kashmir’s Shopian district in the Western Himalayas, over a two-year period. Scat analysis revealed that animal matter constituted the bulk of their diet, with rodents making up the primary food source throughout the year. However, in summer, domestic sheep carcass dominated their diet, accounting for approximately 33.4% of the total biomass consumed.
The paper notes that it is more likely for golden jackals to scavenge livestock, particularly from slaughtered animals disposed of by herders, than to hunt them. The motorable road within the study area, used by migratory herders, facilitates access to livestock that may fall victim to starvation, adverse weather, or road accidents. “Agro-pastoralists also discard dead animals in the forest, providing an extra food source for the jackals,” the lead author of the study, Zakir Hussain Najar points out.
No evidence of wild ungulate consumption was found. Researchers hypothesise that this may be due to the low number of wild ungulates in the sanctuary or spatial isolation between jackals and ungulates. The study also found evidence of indigestible items such as polythene and clothing, likely from scavenging human leftovers, highlighting the growing anthropogenic influence on wildlife diets.
The findings suggest that the golden jackal is a generalist, particularly in winter when food is scarce, but becomes more specialised when resources are abundant. Seasonal dietary overlap was particularly evident during the transition from autumn to summer, with jackals feeding on a variety of prey, including rodents, domestic sheep, and birds.
An omnivorous and opportunistic feeder, the golden jackal is listed as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Najar says that most carnivore research tends to focus on charismatic species, often overlooking animals like the golden jackal. “Our goal was to study the food resources available to golden jackals in the areas where they are found. The objective was to understand how climate change is impacting their distribution and how they are coping with it,” Najar explains.
Climate change impact
Bilal Habib, a senior scientist and conservation biologist at the Wildlife Institute of India, tells Mongabay India that widely distributed meso-predators such as the golden jackal can serve as effective indicators of climate change, unlike range-restricted species. “Studying their behaviour and distribution provides valuable insights into how climate change is impacting wildlife in the region,” says Habib, who was not involved in the study.
Indications of climate change’s impact on the species became apparent when a golden jackal was spotted for the first time in Ladakh. The 2020 study documented the first confirmed sighting of the golden jackal in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh at an elevation of 3,120 metres above sea level (asl), marking the highest recorded elevation for this species globally. This sighting is significant because the golden jackal is typically known to inhabit lower altitudes.
Lead author of the study, Niazul H. Khan, shares that “one individual was spotted multiple times in 2020 in Drass, near a garbage dump, foraging on human leftovers.” Genetic analysis of five scat samples, collected at elevations ranging from 4,724 to 5,365 masl in the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, confirmed that they belonged to golden jackals. This finding is significant, suggesting a range expansion and potential ecological impacts on local wildlife. The results challenge previous assumptions about the jackal’s range and point to the possibility that climate change is enabling their movement into higher altitudes by altering environmental conditions.
However, Habib believes that it is not just warming, but the availability of food sources, such as human leftovers, that is helping the jackals scale higher elevations and colonise new areas. The study also highlights that unsupervised garbage dump sites may act as anthropogenic attractants, further facilitating this range expansion.
The study also emphasises the need for further research into the interactions between golden jackals and other sympatric carnivores — carnivores that live in the same area and interact with each other. “As their range expands, we need to examine the competition with other meso-predators, such as the red fox,” says Khan.
In another study, a team of researchers, including Bhat and Najar, investigated the dietary overlap between golden jackals and red foxes in Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary. They found that while there is significant overlap in their food choices, the coexistence of the two species is facilitated by their preference for different altitudinal ranges within the study area. Red foxes typically occupy higher altitudes and golden jackals are found in lower altitudes. However, the ongoing range expansion of golden jackal underscores the need for further research into the interactions between various meso-predators at higher altitudes.
Read more: Study finds leopard cats and red foxes cohabit regions in the Western Himalayas
Banner image: Golden jackal is widely distributed and gets very little attention from conservationists. Image by Zakir Hussain Najar.
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