VIDEO. What is the golden jackal, this new wild species arrived in France?

“It is a species of canine, which has a size that is between the size of the fox and the wolf. It has a muzzle which is pointed like the fox, it has ears which are rounded and unimportant, like the wolf… And for these reasons it can be confused with these two species”, explains Jean-Michel Vandel, Department of Research and Scientific Support, French Office for Biodiversity. The golden jackal is a species that arrived in France only a few years ago. The first photo confirming its presence on the territory dates from 2017. Today, it is visible in 5 departments in France. But what exactly is the golden jackal?

“He will be interested in consuming carcasses”

This species had never lived in France before. “It actually comes from Asia, it arrived in Europe about 2000 years ago. It remained confined until the 1960s in south-eastern Europe, towards Greece and the Balkans. Thanks to regulations that were more in favor of the protection of nature and predators, this species, since the 1960s, has been able to develop. It began a new phase of colonization towards northern Europe and western Europe to gradually reach France”, explains the researcher.

The golden jackal, which arrived in France through a natural process, is then protected by directives and legal texts. It cannot therefore be hunted, and does not represent any risk for the population. “It has a very marked scavenger character, so it will be interested in consuming carcasses, carcasses of domestic prey or wild prey. Afterwards, it can be at the origin of predation, but on prey, in fact, which will be a little more adapted to its size and clearly inferior to that of the wolf. We cannot exclude that it is the cause of predation on domestic species, but it will remain small prey like poultry, or lambs, rarely beyond.”