GOJAGE 2, brief report of Romania

O. Banea & C. Papp

Copyright © 2012 [Ovidiu C. BANEA]. All Rights Reserved.

Canis aureus moreoticus somewhere in Danube Delta, 

Video recorded on 13.10.2012 by Ovidiu C. Banea & Cristian R. Papp

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SISTEM 2012, is the name of autumn stage of European jackal monitoring in Romania and is part of GOJAGE 2 broader activities proposed to be performed in 8 countries of golden jackal home range in Central and SE Europe. These countries are Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy.

The action started on 11th Oct 2012 in Olt county, new region of jackal settlement in southern SubCarpathians. We did survey on Oltet river near Iancu Jianu, Morunesti, Morunglav, Ganeasa, Plesoiu localities but no answer to bioacoustic stimulation was recorded. 

The importance of this step was that we participated in first serious TV documentary about jackal species in Romania, an investigation performed by DIGI 24 HD TV team lead by Romanian television journalist Andrei Udisteanu. 

We installed 10 calling stations for future studies and we established important contact with local Game Management Unit leader, Eng. Gerard Matei (GMU Bals) and Sorin Paun (hunting terrain ranger).

We are very confident in the way of how Bals GMU (Ocolul Silvic Bals) managed jackal settlement announcement of the region and we recognize high profesionalism of this team. 

We have to say that for Olt County (in Southern part of Romania) many news from written press show jackals as harmful carnivore and dangerous mammal without documented data and in a very unprofessional style. Jackals were presented as scaring people: "Oltenians threatened by jackals", as eating and killing dogs and as eating and killing 20 sheep of a local deputy.

On second day we did survey in control area of Dobruja and we installed a new line (5 points) near M. Kogalniceanu locality and we performed survey in Lupilor levee, known area. In the morning we set the camera in a very important region of Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve with no jackal responses to acoustic stimulation, but with one beautiful video recorded individual (see above).

During 3rd night we performed survey on new transect between Crisan and Caraorman villages in the heart of Danube Delta.

Results:

• We installed 4 transects with 20 new calling stations (10 stations in Olt county, 5 stations in Dobruja and 5 stations in mid Danube Delta)

• We did survey in control area of Dobruja (8 points) and Grindul Lupilor (5 points) and we compared results. We had no response in control area of Dobrogea (last year we had 5 groups here) and we got response only in one station (3 territorial groups) in Lupilor (last year we recorded 6 groups in the points used this year)

2011 survey, performed by Krofel, Cervinka, Banea in Dobrogea, Chituc and Lupilor

• We installed 5 new points in the middle of the delta (directly from the boat) on the channel between Crisan and Caraorman villages. Here, we got responses from 11 territorial groups in 2 related stations (6 groups in 1st station and 5 groups in the 2nd). On the bank of these points, very active sport fishermen activities were identified, livestock as free cattle and poultry. On the three following points, of the same channel, where only reeds and Salix sp trees could be observed, and no human activities no reponse was recorded.

Conclusions:

1) We concluded that for this autumn stage complementary method as video trapping was very important when we look to an area where we know of the existence of territorial group and bioacustic stimulation is not appropiate due to unknown parameters.

2) Due to the lack of responses also in the control area (Dobroge) as on Lupilor, we do not give a major importance of the reduced number of jackal groups in Grindul Lupilor, but we advise new monitoring after 3 months period!

3) The fact that we got responses of jackals where human activities were increased and where released livestock and poultry were observed we think that jackal presence in Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve is very close related to human activities.

4) In areas where recent settlement by jackals was reported (e.g. Olt County) and supposed density is scarce, bioacustic stimulation should be reconsidered or performed in future to assess management and conservation measures derived by clusters´ levels dynamic. 

5) We think that for Romania, in this period (mid October, 2012 year with late summer) the vocal behavior of jackals is observed for territoriality, more than for other comunications (mating, breeding). We heared responses only in 3 points of 33 surveyed this year, but when responses were observed, they came from well separate group and always followed by other groups. No answer were recorded at second broadcast when we played again, observation we all did before. No separate group(1 individual or group) was identified.

6) We suggest that transects with no responses should be removed from the final multivariate analysis, due to possible wrong induced stimulation associated with meteo conditions or other variable not known, yet. If we demonstrate the presence of jackal (with Giannatos technique) in one of the 5 points these transects will be considered.

Ecological network analysis, preliminary questions related to observations.

We observed 4 Enots (Racoon dogs Nyctereus procyonoides), 3 Northern lapwings, peweet or green plover (Vanellus vanellus), 3 Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), where high density of jackal was observed. We can admit that jackals and racoon dogs can share the same habitat and that pheasants and lapwings (Nagâțul In Romanian) are not scarce in jackal specific ecological systems. 

More and multidisciplinary studies together with ornitolgists have to be assessed and performed in bird communities nature reservations. We mentioned the late sightings of highly migratory ground nesting Vanellus vanellus which together with possible low jackal responses indicate that another monitoring session should be performed during the winter period to assess better jackal density levels.

Vanellus vanellus BirdLife International 2012

(In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 16.10. 2012)

It is known that Vanellus vanellus prefers small grassland for breeding. The nest is a shallow scrape in short grass vegetation (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Management information Short swards are the most profitable foraging habitat for the species (Devereux et al. 2004) so the application of cattle-grazing (Olsen and Schmidt 2004), preferably intensively (e.g. > 1 cow per hectare), may be successful in increasing abundances of the species on grasslands. On coastal grazing saltmarsh however it may be desirable to exclude cattle from selected areas in the spring where the rate of grass growth is slow (Hart et al. 2002). 

Ovidiu Banea & Cristian Papp, 16.10.2012

GOJAGE

See photoreport and ecology network analysis questions here 

Wild animals are on the increase in Europe

Wild carnivores increase in Switzerland
Wolves population increase in Bulgaria

Photo: In http://ecomuntiimacinului.wordpress.com/fauna/mamifere/

Photos: In http://www.abhuntingexperience.ro/category/specii/

Wild carnivores are increasing their populations in Switzerland (see news here) as in many countries around Europe.

Jackals were phototrapped in Waadt, Friburg and Bern Kantons (KORA news) in December 2011 during Lynx monitoring programm.

"All species are growing in number in one way or another", said Reinhard Schnidrig, who heads the Federal Office for the Environment's department for hunting, wild animals and biodiversity told the Le Temps daily (14. Sept.2012)

“Bears are returning each year in summer” and wolves had “started to reproduce on Swiss soil,” he said. In addition, he said, the first golden jackal had made its way to Switzerland in recent weeks from the Balkans, while lynxes, wild cats and foxes were also prospering.

“Bears share the same kind of behavior,” he said, adding that female bears had also been making their way to Swiss territory.

With the first wolf litters born in the country this year, “we have entered a new era. Wolves will only go on growing in number,” Schnidrig said. (first females arrived in 2006).

Growing forest cover and an abundance of prey such as deer were together facilitating the rise in wild carnivores in Switzerland, he added.

In Bulgaria (Mihaylov & Stoyanov, 2012) wolves population size was increasing in the past 10 years and the wolf expanded its range, as evidenced by hunting statistics. The harvest of wolves in the period 2000 - 2010 was 2-3 times higher compared to the 70s and 80s of the last century.

GOJAGE 2 BROADER ACTIVITIES

INFORMATION DISCLOSURE GOJAGE 2
 (11th of Oct - 25th of Nov 2012)
INVITATION

proposal and broader activities of jackal population monitoring in Central and SE Europe

Next week will start in Romania 2nd Broader Activities of GOJAGE. Collegues from other seven countries were invited to participate to bio-acoustic monitoring session, autumn stage during October and November 2012. 

Data will show jackal species densities in relation with most important ecological factors in several critical points located on the main source population type countries and movements routes. These data will be compared with spring information obtained during another campaign of GOJAGE members, an innovative study proposed by Czech Republic team, Jaroslav Cervinka and Martin Salek in 351 calling stations located in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia. 

During Autumn Stage GOJAGE 2, researchers from Hungary, Greece, Italy and Slovenia will complete the teams already formed in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia. Each team will work independently on the areas within respective country in the same conditions with the same non-invasive, nature friendly technique of bio-acoustic monitoring of jackal species.

In Romania, SISTEM 2012 autumn stage will start in Olt county with Game Management Unit education and human-jackals conflict analysis in a natural area with recent jackal re-settlement and confused demages on livestock. A television investigation will be conducted in this area by DIGI24TV channel,  after different press articles biased against jackals attack appeared with unfounded informations. Ecology Department of NGO Crispus Sibiu organizes the survey period in Romania and for this stage they will try to estimate jackal density levels in points of Calarasi, Olt, Danube Delta and in a control area of Dobruja.

In Croatia, jackal survey will be organized by BIOM NGO Zagreb and the actions continue this autumn stage in central-eastern parts of the country, following Sava river, but also on Peljesac Peninsula during 8-11 Nov 2012 period.

In Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia research teams work on natural areas along the Italian-Slovenian borders (Karst and Southern Julian Pre-Alps) in areas of Transdanubia  in Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Somogy counties, in natural areas near riverbanks of Toundja river (Evros tributary) near Elkhovo locality, in Evros (Maritsa) Delta and in calling stations from Danube meandrous near Belgrade and other areas elected by the regional teams.

(see details here and specific countries details here)

Ovidiu Banea and Luca Lapini

Alture di Polazzo, NE Italy

Jackals in countryside habitat. Gorizia province, Italy

Videos recorded recently in Gorizia show a pair of jackals on 2nd of February 2012 then another specimen on 18th of February 2012. Another individual was registered on 12th of August 2012. The films author,  Bio agriturismo e parco rurale Alture di Polazzo wonders how this group has been established in the area. Countryside and agroturism activity may explain the crowd. Even so, road mortality continue to be a expansion and growth limiting factor of Canis aureus species in these regions. (see L. Lapini et al 2011). To understand better the overview of this situation look on Italian jackals, Gorizia province post uploaded on 10th of Sept 2012.

Interpretation 

1) At the beginning of 2012 (2nd of February), one pair of jackals was recorded in the region (1st video); On the 10th of February 2011 a female of 9.7 kg was road killed (see L. Lapini et al 2011); On the 18th of February 2012 one robust specimen was recorded at the same place having the note as female! (2nd video). 

If we track better the record (2nd video), we can see how the protagonist raises his right leg when he marks his territory. We are looking to a male, maybe the same specimen recorded in the area on 29th of March 2012 by our collegue S. Pecorella

2)The supposed young photo-trapped (3rd video) in loc. Alture di Polazzo (Doberdo' del Lago, Gorizia) it was not a young. In that season a young have 4-5 kg. The photo-trapped specimen, on the contrary, is surely a full developed individual, at the end of the summer moult (and for this reason particularly slender). Probably a female, perhaps the same specimen photo-trapped later and before. The last young from this zone, a female of about 11 months, was road killed on 10 February 2011 (see Lapini et al., 2011).

3)CONCLUSIONS

To conclude this hypothesis we have to admit the limits of phototrapping method:

- We cannot do biometry, body measurement and during IR-night condition sex differentiation being also very difficult;

- In the last two year, anyway, in the same zone one adult male was found dead and a young female was road killed by cars. We don't know if they were effective of the above quoted reproductive group. A genetic mapping of jackal specimens, conducted by Friulian Museum of Natural History in Udine, started in the area, and we hope that DNA analysis could gather further information about their true parental links. 

- The best current estimate for this zone, at present, is 2-5 specimens. 

(Luca Lapini, Ovidiu Banea & Stefano Pecorella)

First golden jackal-proof in Switzerland

Erster Goldschakal-Nachweis in der Schweiz

Miha Krofel

Perhaps you'd be interested - it is now official, first confirmed evidence of jackal in Switzerland recorded during this year's lynx monitoring with phototraps. (KORA news)

During the lynx monitoring in the northwestern Alps last winter by several camera trapping a strange animal has been mapped: similar in coloration and habit of a wolf, but obviously smaller and more compact, too big and too leggy for a fox. After consulting with several specialists it was confirmed that the photos show a golden jackal (Canis aureus). Is still pending final proof in the form of a genetic analysis, but we keep the recordings for the first tangible evidence of a golden jackal in Switzerland.

In Austria and Northeast Italy reproduction of the golden jackal is detected since 2007 . The evidence so far is from the northern German state of Brandenburg.

The animal pictured here was recorded between the 11/27/2011 and the 12/12/2011 by five different camera traps in the cantons of Bern, Fribourg and Waadt. Since then, no further proof was recorded.

Italian jackals, Gorizia Province

Recent identification of a possible reproductive group of golden jackal in Italy

Stefano Pecorella

A recent picture (7.09.2012) of a pair of jackals obtained on Karst (Carso), in the Province of Gorizia. (Photo: Stefano Pecorella). First specimen (part of it) on this special trail is located just above the black line (the bottom picture), the second has bright eyes. Another individual was recorded in may (9.05.2012).
To see more photos and description of habitat follow the link below:
http://cameratrapping.altervista.org/karst/ 

Luca Lapini

As you know, from the same zone there are a lot of excellent pictures both of jackal and wildcat, together with a lot of samples of both species (road kills, illegally harvested specimens, jackal howling records, etc.).

In this place the presence of the golden jackal was ascertained at least from 1994 to the present (please, see Lapini, 1996 and Lapini et al., 2011). This is surely the oldest Italian reproductive situation, at present constituted by at least two specimens simultaneously present in the wild. A quite realistic jackal-howling estimate suggests that in this zone could be present 2-5 specimens.

Jackals in Rep of Moldova

Latest news at Radio Orhei, near Revina County related possible presence of jackals at Ghiduleni in Republic of Moldova. Crispus NGO Sibiu Romania will perform an action of recognition and monitoring of ecological factors in the area during next months. Rabies incidence also increased in the area during the last year taking the county at 3rd place in the country. Further studies are necessary to identify if doubled number of rabies cases is due to jackal spreading. Prevention actions and vaccines may be also used.