Jackal suitable habitat in Czech Republic

by Ovidiu C. Banea 
(Report)

On 1st and 2nd of October 2015 I could arrive in the vicinity of Bartošovický luh from Poodří Protected Landscape Area in Oder River floodplain an area suitable to jackal species. The forested hills to the eastern part of this region are known to be populated with LC (lynx, wolves, bears).

BAM couldn´t be performed due to the missing of logistics and local support but a camera trapp was instaled. In this area two jackals were killed in 2014 and 2015. No jackal was photographed, but I heard one spontaneous howl which I do not recognize as official record due to unreproducibility.

Crispus NGO Sibiu will perform BAM in this area. A contact was already established with zoologist Mgr. Štěpán Tračík, vedoucí strážní služby from Agentura ochrany přírody a krajiny ČR, Regionální pracoviště Správa CHKO Poodří.

On 1st day, I met Mr Fux Karachovic, maybe the sole Mongolian calligrapher in Europe and we talked about thoughts and jackals.

Golden Jackal species has different legal status in Lithuania and Poland

The news that jackal hunting is open all year round is still active on the website of Lithuanian Ministry of Environment (Last accessed date 24.09.2015), even if colleagues of GOJAGE Lithuania announced that species do not have category of IAS. GOJAGE emitted a letter of complaint on this topic on 2nd of June 2015.

IAS project in Poland named golden jackal species as native!

New golden jackal possible record and BAM proposal in Czech Republic

by Ovidiu C. Banea & Jaroslav Červinka

Possible record of the golden jackal species in Czech Republic

On 25th of August 2015 a canid was photo-trapped by Ecol. Klára Pyšková  (here). 

But, first photography of a canid, looking like the golden jackal, was realized by photo-trapping on 28th of June 2015 by the same researcher, when she was studying the mesocarnivore species on natural areas of Elba River catchment. Taking together these data, it seems that this is the first official record of an alived jackal specimen in Czech Republic (GOJAGE C3 category, this report needs to be additionally documented and verified).

GOJAGE BAM Proposal in Czech Republic (2.10.2015)

Bartošovický luh, Poodří PLA is under Ramsar Convention, SPA and SCI under Natura 2000.

GOJAGE is planning now BAM in Bartošovický luh from Poodří Protected Landscape Area in Oder River floodplain, on the Eastern part of Czech Republic, in an opposite site of the recent observations made by Ecol. Klára Pyšková. Poodří PLA has been included as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention and is also part of an important bird migration route through Central Europe. Under the Natura 2000 system, Poodří has been declared a Special Protection Area (Bird Area) to protect the kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus), bittern (Botaurus stellaris) and the gadwall (Anas strepera). For the exceptional value of its natural localities, Poodří has also been included among the Sites of Community Importance under the Natura 2000 system.

Our hypothesis is that in the Eastern parts of Czech Republic, mostly the alluvial meadows of Oder River, jackal established already a reproductive population cluster suggesting that the above mentioned record is related to another dispersal route.

Next week a team of GOJAGE will perform BAM in surroundings of Bartošovický luh covering an area of 43sqkm. Jaroslav Červinka, RNDr, specialist in Vertebrate Ecology and habitat fragmentation and Environmental Ecologist Ovidiu C. Banea, MSc. will organize and participate to this brief survey.

GOJAGE has another website

The domain is http://conservation.goldenjackal.eu

BAM proposal and golden jackal hunting law in Austria

by Jennifer Hatlauf and Ovidiu C. Banea

BAM PROPOSAL IN AUSTRIA

Potential ecological area of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) in Austria. Status, habitat factors and modeling approach is the name of the recent Master thesis presented in March 2015.

According to the suitable jackal habitat modelling approach based in GIS and CORINE 2006 instruments together with actual European concerns regarding jackal population ecology, dispersal patterns and golden jackal habitat ecological factors we propose a Bio-Acoustic Monitoring (BAM) survey in Austrian natural areas where jackal has been reported before (1989-2015).

GOLDEN JACKAL AS GAME SPECIES IN AUSTRIA

Golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a Community Interest species ("Habitats Directive" 92/43/EEC) listed in Annex Va together with pine marten (Martes martes), European polecat (Mustela putorius) and chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) between other mammals. Monitoring of conservation status is an obligation arising from Article 11 of the Habitats Directive for all habitats (as listed in Annex I) and species (as listed in Annex II, IV and V) of Community interest. Consequently this provision is not restricted to Natura 2000 sites and data need to be collected both in and outside the Natura 2000 network to achieve a full appreciation of conservation status. The main results of this monitoring have to be reported to the Commission every six years according to Article 17 of the directive. 

Article 14 places a requirement for further surveillance of exploited species of flora and fauna listed in Annex V where necessary. After that management measures could be applied. In Austria as in many countries of Central and SE Europe monitoring of species is deficient and commonly done by inexpert people. When management measures are applied in case of Community Interest species a series of hunting methods should be avoided. These hunting methods which are prohibited are listed in the Annex VI of the "Habitats Directive" 92/43/EEC.

Golden jackal Hunting Law in Austria

We are now suggesting BAM survey in natural areas of Austria with known historical reports of the golden jackal species complementary to the census programs performed by the Game Species Management Authority and in close collaboration with hunters and Nature Conservation bodies.

Guldsjakal fundet i Danmark

Golden jackal (Canis aureus L. 1758) in Denmark

by Ovidiu C. Banea

A jackal was road killed between Karup and Frederiks localities in Central Jutlandia, Denmark. Mr Jan Falbe Hansen found the specimen and tried to identify species with Peder Didriksen, veterinarian. The genetic analysis was perfromed by geneticist DNA expert Mrs Liselotte Wesley Andersen and showed that tissue samples collected from the front paws belong to golden jackal species.

Foto: Max Steinar, Original news 10th of September 2015 (here)

Danish Hunters' Association announced the new record of jackal species on 10th of September 2015. 

And what about possible jackal populations in southern part of Finland and Sweden? Or in Germany and Poland? 

Until present day no data is available about jackal reproductive groups in Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia or Belarus even if recently isolated sightings were reported. The closest jackal reproductive population cluster to Denmark was reported in West Estonia (Matsalu National Park) in 2013.

Known range of the golden jackal species encompasses territories from NE Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Southern Romania, SW Ukraine, Caucasus.

Golden Jackal is not an IAS in Lithuania

by Jos Stratford

The article on Golden Jackal in Lithuania is now published in Zoology and Ecology- it was not written with the view to publication, but with the express purpose of informing the Lithuanian Ministry of the Environment (and was successful as they dropped the proposal to list as invasive). Nevertheless, was also accepted for publication.