MONITORING - Golden jackal monitoring with stakeholder support | Austria

Abstract

Species: Golden jackal 

Country: Austria

Implementation: 2015 - ongoing

Contact info: jennifer [dot] hatlaufboku [dot] ac [dot] at (jennifer[dot]hatlauf[at]boku[dot]ac[dot]at) 

More information: On goldschakal.at and on their YouTube channel

The issue

The golden jackal, a species not present in Austria in pre-historic times, started spreading naturally into the region in the 90s. This expansion is part of a wider trend across Europe, where the species has significantly increased its range in recent years and is expected to continue to spread in the future (Cunze and Klimpel 2022). 

The first confirmed evidence of the golden jackal in Austria dates back to 1987. Since then, there have been sporadic sightings, with the first confirmed reproduction occurring in 2007 (Herzig-Straschil, 2008). However, without a formal monitoring standard, there were very few confirmed records and many rumours about their presence. Initially, little was known about golden jackals by administrators and stakeholders, leading to scepticism about their arrival and spread. Concerns were raised about their unknown impact on ecosystems and potential damage to livestock.

While other large carnivores, such as wolves, have established monitoring standards that allow consistent comparisons of data across Europe, this was not the case for the golden jackal. This species is secretive, active at dusk and night, and typically hides in thickets during the day. Its similarity to other canids, including wolves, foxes and dogs, further complicates efforts to monitor its population. The lack of data hinders effective management and understanding of impacts, making it difficult to address potential environmental and economic challenges.

A solution

By joining forces with diverse stakeholders and working closely with leading scientists and colleagues across borders, it is possible to establish monitoring standards for this new, secretive species. 

The Golden Jackal Project Austria was launched in 2015 to monitor and study the increasing presence of this species. This initiative aims to establish monitoring standards to provide a basic module for long-term observation. The project has been implemented with the help of the hunting community and attentive citizens, who can report sightings online on the project website. Once these reports have been verified, different monitoring methods are used in the respective regions to obtain further information about the individuals there. In order to ensure effective monitoring of the species, it has also been necessary to share knowledge with scientists from neighbouring countries. 

Actions

• Collaboration with Citizen science 
  • Development of a reporting form for direct or indirect golden jackal sightings by the public to be sent directly to the project. 
  • Appeal to the general public to report any sightings, ideally with a photograph, via the project website and on their YouTube Channel. 
  • Development and publishing of a questionnaire to gain further insight into the public's knowledge of golden jackals.
• Collaboration with the local hunting community for monitoring 
  • Appeal to the hunting community from the initial phases of the project to help monitor golden jackals. Hunters are encouraged to share golden jackal records. These records include camera trap data, dead animals, acoustic or visual sightings and livestock damage. The project team also offers to carry out acoustic monitoring in the hunting areas and to collect dead jackals and killed livestock for genetic analysis.  
• Active monitoring in areas of suspected presence, based on the information from the citizen science project and the hunting community
  • Bioacoustic monitoring by playing recordings of golden jackal howls through a megaphone at intervals of 3-4 kilometres. This method stimulates resident jackals in the area to respond, thereby verifying their presence. 
  • Camera trapping in areas with verified presence, in cooperation with the local hunting community, to study spatial and social behaviour. Setting up camera traps at knee height along paths or crossroads gave the best results.
  • Wildlife detection dogs help to search for scat, hair and urine. The dogs can distinguish between the tracks of related species, such as wolves, jackals, or domestic dogs, a task challenging even for experts. These samples are collected for later use in genetic analysis to distinguish between individuals and to analyse their diet.  
  • Genetic monitoring of dead jackals. 
• Creation of occurrence maps based on monitoring results 
• Cross-border cooperation
  • Fieldwork and meetings in Poland, initiating golden jackal monitoring using dogs, camera traps and bioacoustic monitoring with Hungarian and Polish colleagues. 
  • Close collaborations with scientists from Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Germany, Serbia, Slovakia and India
• Development of a standardised reporting and monitoring system for long-term surveys of golden jackals
• Initiation of the International World Jackal Day in 2023 

What changed

Austria has recorded the first confirmed presence of resident golden jackals via bioacoustic monitoring. Occurrence maps have been developed, providing essential data and baseline knowledge. This information is crucial for future management strategies and studies of jackals in the region.

Financing

A BOKU research grant for graduates financed the project start and was later supported by the Academy of Science (Austria). The project has also been funded by a number of smaller initiatives in the past, like the OEAD, the Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalisation and the HIT Environmental Foundation GmbH (HIT Umwelt- und Naturschutz Stiftungs GmbH). Currently, in 2024, the main parts of the project are funded by BOKU, and several collaborative projects are in the pipeline.