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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about golden jackals. You can learn more about all kinds of animals by subscribing. Thank you to Sam Rizzardi for today’s golden suggestion!

Jackal, when I hear that word I can’t help but imagine Anubis, the lord of the dead. Golden jackals are supposedly the canids that Anubis was based off of as their lonely cries at night frightened ancient Egyptians causing them to ponder the mysteries of death, but, surprisingly, we now know that the subspecies of golden jackal that may have been Anubis’s origin isn’t a jackal at all - it’s a wolf, now called the African golden wolf. I feel like science is ruining my life!

Golden jackals, the real and true species, are the most northern living of the three jackal species in the world. Although their overall population is described to be decreasing, they’re the only jackals found outside Sub-Saharan Africa, and they’re spreading northward even now with some having been sighted as far as China and Italy.

You can tell a golden jackal apart from other jackals by it the tip of black fur at the end of its tail - but don’t ask me how to tell a golden jackal and golden wolf apart because not even trained professionals could do that without DNA sequencing! Golden jackals have course, golden coats that may change color with the season and can range anywhere from a light tawny color to reddish brown. They’re about twice the size of the average domestic cat in terms of weight. Heck, some people have even raised golden jackals in their own homes. Apparently they bond well with their owners, but become timid around strangers. Our dog Merry is the same way.

Golden jackals can be found in open grasslands and savannahs, deserts, forests, and even within close proximity to humans. This living near humans can be beneficial for the golden jackals as they often find food sources in our garbage cans, or they enjoy the rodents our waste attracts - meaning it’s good for us too, in some ways! In other ways, human interaction with golden jackals can be dangerous. Golden jackals have killed domestic dogs and even children. Yes, they’re adorable, but they’re also still wild animals we should respect.

In the wild, golden jackals may live to be eight years old, though they can double that lifespan in captivity. They live in family groups headed by a male and female who are bonded. The next adults in the group are called “helpers” and they are typically their children from the previous year’s litter. Then there are the pups of which there can be anywhere from one to nine. Golden jackals mate after different times depending on where they live, but it almost always coincides with an abundance of available food.

They’ll eat baby antelope, rodents, rabbits, birds and their eggs, bugs, reptiles, and even fruit. They usually hunt in a pack, eat quick, and make sure to bring enough back to feed the kids. Sometimes they’ll even steal large meals they wouldn’t normally be able to bring down on their own from lion’s who are finished eating. If they can’t eat all the meat that’s left, the golden jackals will bury the meat to save for later.

For many people, golden jackals are seen the same as red foxes in terms of being depicted as a trickster character. Do you know of any golden jackal legends?

For more facts on golden jackals, check out the links in the description. Give up thumbs up worth its weight in gold for golden jackals, and we’ll see you next time on Animal Fact Files.