Canis aureus
Silhouette: Pearson Scott Foresman · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The golden jackal (Canis aureus), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller and has shorter legs, a shorter tail, a more elongated torso, a less-prominent forehead, and a narrower and more pointed muzzle than the Arabian wolf. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its widespread distribution and high density in areas with plenty of available food and optimum shelter.
Despite its name, the golden jackal is not closely related to the African black-backed jackal or the side-striped jackal, which are part of the genus Lupulella. It is instead closer to wolves and coyotes. The ancestor of the golden jackal is believed to be the extinct Arno river dog that lived in southern Europe 1.9 million years ago. It is described as having been a small, jackal-like canine. Genetic studies indicate that the golden jackal expanded from India around 20,000 years ago, towards the end of the last Last Glacial Maximum. The oldest golden jackal fossil, found at the Ksar Akil rock shelter near Beirut, Lebanon, is 7,600 years old. The oldest golden jackal fossils in Europe were found in Greece and are 7,000 years old. There are six subspecies of the golden jackal. It is capable of producing fertile hybrids with both the gray wolf and the African wolf. Jackal–dog hybrids called Sulimov dogs are in service at the Sheremetyevo Airport near Moscow, where they are deployed by the Russian airline Aeroflot for scent-detection.
The golden jackal is abundant in valleys and beside rivers and their tributaries, canals, lakes, and seashores; however, the species is rare in foothills and low mountains. It is a social species, the basic social unit of which consists of a breeding pair and any young offspring. It is very adaptable, with the ability to exploit food ranging from fruit and insects to small ungulates. It attacks domestic fowl and domestic mammals up to the size of domestic water buffalo calves. Its competitors are the red fox, steppe wolf, jungle cat, Caucasian wildcat, the raccoon in the Caucasus and in Central Asia, and the Asiatic wildcat. It is expanding beyond its native grounds in from Southeast Europe into Central Europe as far as France, and Northeast Europe into areas where there are few or no wolves. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 7 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 11 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 12 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 13 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Ain Zoo | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 2 | Bondla Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | National Zoological Park Delhi | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Mysore Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Burgers' Ocean | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 6 | Bannerghatta Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Royal Burgers' Zoo | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 8 | Körösvölgyi Állatpark | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 9 | Warangal Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Jijamata Udyaan | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Nahargarh Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Kharkiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 13 | NaturZoo Rheine | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 15 | Wildpark Assling | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 16 | Amirthi Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Budakeszi Game Preserve | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 18 | Kathmandu Zoo | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 19 | Зоопарк Тебердинского заповедника | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 20 | Вольерный комплекс | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 21 | Kecskeméti Vadaskert | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 22 | Kharkiv Dolphinarium | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 23 | Thrissur Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 24 | Jaipur Zoo | 🇮🇳 India |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Jackal sighting in Kozhikode on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 6th most-seen of the 6 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Jackal in Kozhikode on a given day, against under 5% in January, April–July and September–November, the lowest months. That is one of Kozhikode's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 390 mm in June.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Asian Jackal sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
6th of 10
Of the 10 cities where we can rate Asian Jackal sightings, Kozhikode ranks 6th at about 20%. The best odds are in Tel Aviv (Israel, about 40%), Ponnani (India, about 40%) and Dehradun (India, about 40%).
Same order: Carnivora
The closest relatives of the Asian Jackal that you can see in Kozhikode (order Carnivora, Carnivorans) are Indian Gray Mongoose (about 20%) and Common Palm Civet (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Asian Jackal is recorded against all the mammals logged in Kozhikode (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
