Spotlight on the Wild: A Pair of Golden Jackals
#intothewildwithrufus
2nd November 2025
Today we had a darshan of two of the so-called ‘cunning’ dwellers of the forest that gave us a truly unforgettable wildlife moment.
We were so thrilled to spot a beautiful pair of Golden Jackals this morning, in a long time!
These canids are indeed a lovely reminder that the jungle’s magic lies in its interconnected ecosystem.
Jose R. Castello in his book titled, Canids of the World, calls them ‘Masters of Disguise’ owing to their thick, pale gold to rusty-brown coats that are perfectly mottled to blend into the dry, deciduous landscape. If they stand still, they become almost invisible!
Interestingly, the Golden Jackal is highly monogamous, and they typically mate for life. The pair forages and rests together all of the time.
The Jackals are known for their cooperative breeding habit – through “helpers” - young adults from a previous litter that stay with the parents for a year or more.
Moreover, the jackals have a marked territory using scent marking (urine and faeces) and vigorous chasing to warn off intruders.
They are typically crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk), but their behaviour is flexible.
Calling them ‘Opportunists’, the book emphasises their highly varied and flexible diet, that is omnivorous - which allows them to thrive across diverse habitats.
While they are capable hunters, taking down small prey like rodents, birds, or even a young deer, they are also master scavengers. As the saying goes, “When the tiger kills, the jackal profits!” They thus play a crucial role in keeping the forest clean.
Spotting this handsome pair today was a perfect reminder to slow down, look beyond the main attractions, and appreciate the intricate life and quiet interactions that make a journey into the wild so enriching and rewarding!
To know more about our wild adventures, you may want to key in the hashtag -#intothewildwithrufus on Google or other search engines, to get an ensemble of information on the wild – both on our blog and on our youtube channel as well.
Quoting from the book –
Golden Jackal can breed with Domestic Dog in captivity, and anecdotal accounts exist of Indian feral Dogs that are strikingly similar to Jackals, but molecular studies have not detected evidence of hybridization in India.
SIMILAR SPECIES
Wolf is similar in general appearance, but larger in size, with relatively larger legs, head and muzzle, and has a denser coat. Indian Fox is smaller.
REPRODUCTION
Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 1-5. Weaning: 50-90 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months.
Life span: 14 years.
Breeding season: Throughout the year in India but in Pakistan during the spring and summer months. ♀ excavate a separate den before giving birth to young. Litters are born in the second week of April with up to 5 young per litter. The adult ♂ is an attentive mate and guards the entrance to the breeding burrow when the young are newly born and later on also assists in regurgitating food at the entrance of the den.
BEHAVIOUR
Social behaviour: Solitary, in pairs, or in small groups of 3-5 comprising ♀ and their offspring of previous litter.
Diet: Omnivorous and opportunistic forager and its diet varies according to season and habitat, and includes carcasses of domestic stock and ungulates (chital, buffalo, sambar), small mammals (rodents), poultry and wild birds.
In agricultural landscapes, diet consists mainly of crops such as coarse grains (millets), fruits and sugarcane.
Main predators: Tiger, leopard, Wolf.
Normally hunt singly, but they are social in habit and invariably call to each other as they emerge in the early evening, each individual joining in an answering of yelping and barking.
They emit a long, drawn-out wail followed by 3 to 5 rapidly repeated and high-pitched yelps which are taken up by other individuals within hearing. ♂ regularly scent mark their territory by depositing urine on conspicuous bushes and clumps of grass.
DISTRIBUTION
Native: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan. Found throughout India except the high Himalayas.
HABITAT Dry open country, forests, hillsides, scrub, grasslands, plains and deserts. It generally avoids extensive natural forest. It may be seen near cultivation (melon and sugarcane fields), and visit villages and small towns in search of food. Though they do not penetrate into higher mountain regions, they may be found in most of the broader Himalayan valleys, in central, E and W Nepal, in Nepal (Patukhali), Bhutan, and Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).
Regional status: Near Threatened (Pakistan). Locally common in Nepal and India.
Perceived as an agricultural pest in Bangladesh.
Estimated population of 80,000 for the Indian subcontinent. Considered an agricultural pest in certain parts due to its habit of eating sugarcane and chewing drip irrigation pipes.
