Meet the Highly Adaptable Golden Jackal
We clicked this lovely shot of the golden jackal just this morning.
A very shy animal, the golden jackal looks somewhat like a small wolf!
However, unlike wolves or brown bears, golden jackals migrate into places they have never lived before. Hence, international law classifies them as a naturally expanding native species, rather than an “alien” or invasive one.
They belong to the canid family that includes all dog-like carnivorous mammals. This diverse family consists of over 35 living species, including domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, coyotes, jackals, and dingoes.
They are called the ultimate opportunists, and their diet can shift entirely based on their environment, encompassing small rodents, ground-nesting birds, amphibians, fruit, insects, and human refuse. This incredible flexibility allows them to thrive in any kind of environment!
I happened to read an interesting research article titled, “Insight on the Diet of the Golden Jackal”, by Pooja Chourasia, Krishnendu Mondal, Kalyanasundaram Sankar, and Qamar Qureshi Pooja Chaurasia. A kinda case study of the Golden Jackal’s food habits, in the Sariska Tiger Reserve.
[Pooja is Senior Manager, Environmental and Forestry Services of Skill Art and Beyond (SAB), completed her doctoral degree on the ecology of the golden jackal].
Some of the findings of their research are quite interesting, and may help in policy decisions as well.
While golden jackals are known opportunistic generalists, this study observed their behaviour specifically in the Sariska Tiger Reserve - a habitat shared with apex predators like tigers and leopards.
The scat analysis revealed a high presence of large herbivores (nilgai, chital, sambar, and cattle) in the jackals’ diet. Because jackals cannot hunt these large animals themselves, this indicates they are actively scavenging the remains of kills left by tigers and leopards.
When comparing what the jackals ate versus what was available in the environment, they actively selected for chital, hares, rodents, and Zizyphus fruits (eating them more than their baseline availability). Conversely, they ate livestock (cattle, goats, pigs) less than their availability, suggesting livestock scavenging is more opportunistic than targeted.
Despite rodents being plentiful, the electivity index showed jackals specifically selected for hares over rodents. Hares are heavier, providing a better energy reward for the hunting effort.
Vegetation and fruits made up a massive portion of their diet (present in 37.7% of scats). Their active targeting of the seasonal Indian jujube fruits suggests the golden jackal plays a significant role in seed dispersal across ecosystems.
What’s more? MCC is one of the few places in Tamil Nadu that sports a vibrant scrub jungle with lots of golden jackals dwelling alongside their fellow human and sentient beings in campus.
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| News Courtesy: The Hindu, Chennai Edition, dt. 27 August 2016 |
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