Golden jackal
Canis aureus
A medium-sized dog-like predator with yellowish-grey fur and a relatively short tail. It is a native resident in Georgia.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Diet
Omnivore
Status in Georgia
Resident
Size
70–85 cm
Habitat
Lowland / farmland
Family
Canidae
Conservation
LC
Human interaction: It has no venom. It can bite. In Georgia it is named among wild carnivores that can carry rabies. Do not feed or handle it. Keep dogs vaccinated. In an unprotected yard it may take poultry or small livestock — that is opportunistic feeding, not hunting of people.
Overview
What is Golden jackal
The golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a mammal in the dog family (Canidae). IUCN lists Georgia in the native range. It appears on national mammal checklists. At species level, head–body length is often about 70–85 cm, the tail is shorter than a fox’s, and mass is often about 7–15 kg. It has no venom. The main human risk is a bite and rabies, not poison. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. It is not treated on this page as a threatened taxon on Georgia’s 2014 Red List.
Last updated
Gallery
Golden jackal in photos
Photo: Lagodekhi Protected Areas
Lagodekhi Protected Areas ·
Photo: Charles J. Sharp
Lake Kerkini ·
Photo: Mladen Stankovic
Serbia ·
Photo: Didier Delavaud
Danube Delta ·
Photo: Ivan Bukvic
Serbia ·
Photo: Вых Пыхманн
Tel Aviv ·
Identification
How to identify Golden jackal
A medium-sized dog-like predator with fairly even yellowish-grey or sandy fur, a relatively short tail (without a white tip), and a straighter back line than a fox. It is resident in Georgia.
- 01
At species level head–body is often about 70–85 cm, tail about 20–30 cm, shoulder height often about 40–50 cm, mass often about 7–15 kg. Males are usually slightly larger than females. There is no separate measured Georgian series on this page. The muzzle is broader than a fox’s, the ears are erect, and the legs are relatively long.
- 02
Colour is yellowish-grey, sandy, or pale brown; the back often has a darker “saddle” of mixed black and white hairs. The belly is paler. The tail is bushy, typically with a dark tip, not white. Winter fur is longer and darker. The African “golden jackal” is a different species (African golden wolf, Canis lupaster) and does not occur in Georgia.
- 03
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) also occurs in Georgia: finer muzzle, longer bushy tail often with a white tip, black ear backs, and black lower legs. The wolf (Canis lupus) is much larger, longer-legged, and heavier in the head. A free-ranging dog can match size and tracks; ear shape, tail carriage, and voice do not always decide. The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is introduced in Georgia: shorter-legged, with a masked face, and has no separate profile here yet.
- 04
It is not venomous. A bite or saliva can carry rabies risk. Do not handle it, especially if an animal approaches without fear, seems disoriented, or is aggressive. Daytime activity can also be normal.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
In Georgia it is more common in the lowlands, with a milder, warmer climate, than in the high mountains. Shakarashvili and co-authors (2020) treat it as common in Georgia and note that in recent decades it is also seen at higher elevations than before. This page does not map administrative regions and does not assume even density across the country. A named modern locality is Lagodekhi Protected Areas (Kakheti): a photograph dated 6 March 2025, credited to the administration. That is a named photo record, not a mapped region. Another named site is Ponichala Nature Reserve near Tbilisi: in Kalandarishvili’s 2024 doctoral thesis, camera traps in 2020–2021 recorded the jackal as the most frequent mammal. The same thesis ran a 2021 howl-playback survey in Adjara, Imereti, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Racha-Lechkhumi, Samegrelo, and Samtskhe-Javakheti; responses differed by region, and density figures depend on assumed detection distance. At species level in Europe it uses mosaic farmland, scrub, woodland edge, marshes, and the edge of settlements. The IUCN Europe assessment typically places it from sea level to 800 m, occasionally to 1,800 m in the Italian Alps; a Georgia-specific elevation range in metres is not published on this page.
Diet
There is no separate Georgian stomach or scat study on this page. In Europe it is an opportunistic omnivore: small mammals, carrion and slaughter remains, hunting leftovers, birds, plants, and fruit. The realistic picture in Georgia is the same broad menu — including unprotected poultry or small livestock where conflict is reported — but local proportions have not been measured here.
Behavior
It is mainly active at dusk and at night; it can also be seen by day. At Ponichala camera traps (2020–2021) detections were more frequent in the morning, about 6 a.m. to noon, than during the afternoon dog peak — that is one site, not a national timetable. It often lives as a pair or small family group. It marks territory by howling; the call sits between a fox bark and a wolf howl and is also used in surveys in Georgia. It dens in a burrow it digs or takes over. At species level gestation is about 63 days; litters are often several pups (literature 1–9, averages often about 4–6). Those figures come from the wider range, not a Georgian den sample. Tracks resemble a dog’s and are larger than a fox’s.
Conservation
Hoffmann and co-authors assess Canis aureus as Least Concern on the global IUCN Red List (2018). The European regional assessment (Ranc et al. 2025) is also LC with an increasing population; that assessment does not list Georgia separately in its native-country table, while the Caucasus is named in the wider range. Eliava et al. 2007 list it as LC in Georgia. It is not treated on this page as a threatened taxon on Georgia’s 2014 Red List (Government Resolution No. 190). It is listed as a hunting species; the 2011 harvest rules close jackal hunting from 1 February to 1 September — current season and quota must be checked in official rules and are not copied here as current numbers. It is not on CITES appendices at species level. The EU Habitats Directive does not apply in Georgia. Local pressures can include hunting, road mortality, and conflict over livestock; a national trend is not measured on this page, though the 2020 Georgian genetic study notes an increase in abundance of both jackal and wolf. Do not handle wild animals.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Golden jackal.
Yes. IUCN lists it as native in Georgia. It is on national mammal checklists and on the list of hunting species.
More often in the lowlands and at farmland or settlement edges, at any time of year. Named sites are Lagodekhi Protected Areas (photo, 2025-03-06) and Ponichala Nature Reserve. This page has no municipality list. The atlas map is not coloured.
Fairly even yellowish-grey fur, a relatively short tail with a dark tip, and a more dog-like outline. A fox has a longer tail, often white-tipped; a wolf is much larger.
At species level head–body is often about 70–85 cm, tail about 20–30 cm, mass often about 7–15 kg. There is no separate measured Georgian series on this page.
It is an omnivore: small mammals, carrion, leftovers, birds, fruit. Diet has not been studied separately in Georgia on this page.
Mainly at dusk and at night; it can also appear by day. It is resident and does not migrate like many birds. Howling is often heard.
It is not venomous. It can bite. In Georgia it is named among wild carnivores that can carry rabies. Do not handle it. After a bite, wash the wound and seek medical care.
It is globally Least Concern and is not treated on this page as a threatened taxon on Georgia’s 2014 Red List. It is a hunting species; season and quota are set by official rules.
- Hoffmann et al. 2018 — IUCN Red List, Canis aureus (global)
- Ranc, Krofel & Ćirović 2025 — IUCN Red List, Canis aureus (Europe)
- Shakarashvili et al. 2020 — Wolf and golden jackal in Georgia
- Kalandarishvili 2024 — PhD thesis, golden jackal in Georgia
- Bukhnikashvili & Kandaurov 2002 — The annotated list of mammals of Georgia
- Eliava et al. 2007 — New data on animal biodiversity of Georgia
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- ნადირობას დაქვემდებარებული სახეობები — Canis aureus
- მინისტრის ბრძანება №07 (2011, ცვლილება) — მოპოვების წესები, ტურა
- Moehlman & Hayssen 2018 — Mammalian Species 50(957), Canis aureus
- Koepfli et al. 2015 — African and Eurasian golden jackals are distinct species
- Experimental and Clinical Medicine 2024 — Rabies in Georgia at the modern stage
- EUNIS — Canis aureus
- ASM Mammal Diversity Database — Canidae
- ლაგოდეხის დაცული ტერიტორიები — ტურა, 2025-03-06
- Wikimedia Commons — Golden jackal, Lake Kerkini (Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Golden jackal on snow (Mladen Stankovic, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Chacal doré, Danube Delta (Didier Delavaud, CC BY 2.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Šakal na oprezu (Ivan Bukvic, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Golden jackal, Yarkon (Вых Пыхманн, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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