The golden jackal (
Vienna, an urban center with diverse natural habitats and over 2 million inhabitants (Stadt Wien, 2024), has now witnessed the first confirmed occurrence of the golden jackal within its city borders. Since the beginning of actively monitoring golden jackals in selected areas of Austria (starting in 2015/2016) and documenting reports of sightings with proof, there have been several reports on their potential occurrences in Austria (Hatlauf, 2022). Sightings within Vienna, however, stayed without any proof or were mistakenly reported red foxes (
Official first records of golden jackals in the Austrian provinces in chronological order
Tabelle 1. Offizielle Erstnachweise von Goldschakalen in den österreichischen Bundesländern in chronologischer Reihenfolge
Styria | 1987 | Bauer and Suchentrunk (1995) |
Lower Austria | 1988 | Hoi-Leitner and Kraus (1989) |
Carinthia | 1989 | Hoi-Leitner and Kraus (1989) |
Upper Austria | 1990 | Aubrecht (1991) |
Salzburg | 1992 | Bauer and Suchentrunk (1995) |
Burgenland | 1996 | Petrakovics (1996) |
Tyrol | 2019 | Hatlauf (2022) |
Vienna | 2023 | This study |
On January 25th, 2023, a report was received by the
Pictures of male golden jackal before the pathologic examination in overview and detail.
Abbildung 1. Männlicher Goldschakal vor der pathologischen Untersuchung in Übersichts- und Detailaufnahmen.
Location of the first confirmed road-killed golden jackal in Vienna (red sign) and the closest (up to 15 km to the border of Vienna) confirmed records (C1 categorized after Hatlauf and Böcker, 2022) in the past 20 years (black dots).
Abbildung 2. Ort des Fundes des überfahrenen ersten bestätigten Goldschakals in Wien (rotes Zeichen) und die nächstgelegenen (bis zu 15 km zur Wiener Stadtgrenze) bestätigten Nachweise (C1 Kategorisierung nach Hatlauf und Böcker, 2022) der letzten 20 Jahre (schwarze Punkte).
The postmortem examination of the golden jackal revealed several notable findings. The specimen was in good nutritional condition. However, a severe tick infestation was observed, counting a minimum of 40 ticks (
Ticks (
Abbildung 3. Zecken (
Based on three calling stations with repetitions of five howling events at each point (following Giannatos, 2004; adapted in Hatlauf and Hackländer, 2016), there was no answer and it can be assumed that no group was present in the study area. Within 3 days of the roadkill accident, the trained human–dog team (cf. Hatlauf et al., 2021) searched transects of 19.35 km. The team found one track that led directly to the point of the accident, but no scats. Results of the search for indications of golden jackal presence in the area revealed no further hard facts. Looking at the surrounding areas outside of Vienna, there have been a minimum of five confirmed records within the past 20 years that happened close to the city and were reported within a 15-km radius (Figure 2).
Urban areas have become increasingly important for carnivore conservation and management due to the loss of natural habitats (Streicher et al., 2023). For some species, it can serve as a sink, while for others, it may serve as a refuge (Gehrt et al., 2010; Streicher et al., 2023). These environments can pose challenges for mammals, including limited vegetation, fragmented habitats, or mostly abundant and dense network of roads that might serve as barriers in their expansion process. High food and water availability in urban habitats, coupled with protection from other predators – wolves (
The presence of golden jackals in urban areas can lead to complex topics. Interactions with humans can lead to conflicts (Shome et al., 2023), including public health concerns due to the potential transmission of diseases or incidents of road accidents. Moreover, dependence on human-provided food sources can alter their natural foraging behaviors and dietary habits (Cirovic et al., 2016). Relatives of golden jackals, the coyotes, display remarkable behavioral, social, and dietary plasticity, allowing them to not only exploit but also thrive in various human-modified environments. The recent increase in urban coyote populations, especially in midwestern and eastern North American cities, has highlighted their adaptation to urban environments (Bateman and Fleming, 2012; Gehrt et al., 2023). Understanding how golden jackals can adapt to and interact with the urban ecosystem will be important for wildlife management and conservation, particularly in the context of environmental changes. A standardized and correct assessment (Hatlauf and Böcker, 2022) and the ability to identify yet rare species in new environments are becoming essential. For responsible personnel in Vienna, like the waste and roadkill dispersal employees, a feasible reporting system is becoming relevant. Furthermore, training on species recognition and, consequently, categorization of records (Hatlauf and Böcker, 2022) would be most welcome for conservation, research, and monitoring of not only the species, but also of zoonoses and parasites. The studied golden jackal individual suffered from high endoparasite and ectoparasite infestations, as well as bacterial pneumonia, important factors affecting the health and well-being of wildlife populations and highlighting the significance of postmortem examinations. Further research is warranted to, firstly, study the broader implications of potential zoonoses of this quickly expanding species in our human-dominated ecosystems across Europe (Veronesi et al., 2023) and, secondly, study a potentially higher or lower prevalence of infestations in single wandering dispersers compared to group living (and therefore more grooming) individuals (Moore, 2002)
In conclusion, the first confirmed record of a golden jackal in Vienna represents a noteworthy event in mammal research and urban ecology. While there has not been any proof of resident golden jackals in Vienna yet, the city's mosaic of habitats, including national park areas and the extensive Vienna Woods, can potentially provide various refuge and hiding options for them in the future. Furthermore, this discovery emphasizes the importance of ongoing research efforts to understand the ecological implications of the golden jackals' range expansion and their dispersal. Given their dynamic spread across Europe, collaborative research efforts with colleagues from neighboring regions are essential to comprehensively address implications for populations in urban settings.