Canis aureus
The body of the golden jackal weight is 7-11 kg for the females and 6.3-15 kg for the males. The body length is about 60-100 cm without the 20-30 cm of the tail. The fur is red-gray in the winter with some black shades. The snout, the hair around the eyes and the forehead are deep red. Dorsal of each eye it is one black stripe. The ventral side of the snout, the inner side of ears and the belly are white. The tail is gray, but the exact colour depends on the location.
It is an omnivore and an opportunistic species, so its diet changes throught the year. It may concludes garbage, fruit, plants, amphibians, birds, rodents, insects or goats and sheep.
Their social patterns depend on food availability. They are monogamous and breed once a year. The exact period depends on the location. The females give birth in 63 days.
Least Concern (2008). The golden jackal has a very wide range and it is considered as a succesful species, but in our country, as we mentioned before, is characterised by a very fragmented distribution and small populations. This is the cause that it is a species that interests the conservation projects in Greece and it is considered as a species of importance.
The golden jackal resembles to wolf, but it is much smaller and lighter. It is in the size of a red fox. Its body length is about 60-100 cm without the 20-30 cm of the tail.
The golden jackal occurs the southern regions of Central-Eastern Europe and Asia. The range’s limits are Italy (west) and Thailand (east).