(c) Jennifer Hatlauf

An international day of remembrance has been added to the calendar: From now on, the "World Jackal Day" will be celebrated annually on April 19th. On this day, extensive information on these interesting animals will be made publicly available. Jackals are medium-sized canids that not only play a major role in human folklore and mythology worldwide, but also in the ecosystem.

A special group of animals

Almost every continent has a species of animal that was named "jackal": the "golden jackal" (Canis aureus) in Europe and Asia, the "black-backed jackal" (Lupulella mesomelas), the "side-striped jackal" (Schaeffia adusta), the "Egyptian jackal" (African wolf, Canis lupaster) and the "Ethiopian jackal" (Ethiopian wolf, Canis simensis) in Africa, the "American jackal" (coyote, Canis latrans) in North America and the "Andean jackal" (culpeo, Lycalopex culpaeus) in South America. Although scientific studies have shown that these species are less closely related than previously thought, they all have in common that they are small to medium-sized canid species with similar appearance and comparable ecological niches. Wherever they occur, they play an important role not only in human folklore and mythology (for example the well-known "jackal god" Anubis in ancient Egypt) and literature (for example the jackal Tabaqui in Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book"), but also in the ecosystem - as important maintainers of the predator-prey balance.

Today, much research is conducted on these animals, as in some places there have been declines, while elsewhere there is a highly interesting range-expansion in recent years. This can create potential for conflict with different interest groups. World Jackal Day highlights this exciting group of animals and their close relatives by scientifically dispelling common prejudices and providing the latest information on all aspects of these fascinating creatures: their diet, space use or general behaviour, but also the human dimensions in terms of hunting and coexistence.

Online events provide latest information

The official program for the first World Jackal Day on April 19th 2023 consists of two parts: one is aimed at the scientific community, the other at the general public.

As there are “jackals” on almost every continent, the numerous researchers are spread all over the globe. The latest online conference technology enables for all of them to come together for the first time for a joint network meeting, where current reports and the latest research results are exchanged.

For the general public, information events are organised worldwide by local institutions. For the German-speaking countries, the Golden jackal project Austria is organising a freely accessible online webinar with interesting presentations by international experts on April 19th  from 17:00 to 19:00 CET. A special jackal stamp will also be issued on that day. All information can be found on the website www.worldjackalday.com.

Download images for your use:

https://drive.boku.ac.at/d/f1d6dc09704247cc99e3/

 (Photo credit: Jennifer Hatlauf) More photos and videos on request.

Further information at:
www.worldjackalday.com

For further information and interviews please contact:
Dr. Jennifer Hatlauf / office@goldschakal.at / +43-650 500 2158
BOKU Vienna: Gregor Mendel Straße 33, 1180 Vienna / www.boku.ac.at / +43-1-4765483200

For organisational questions about World Jackal Day, please contact:
Dr. Robert Krickl / mail@r-krickl.com / +43-676 535 62 92

The Golden Jackal Project Austria has been running since 2015 at the Institute of Wildlife Biology and Hunting (IWJ), at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), in order to conduct a systematic presence assessment of golden jackals in Austria, to establish monitoring standards and to conduct basic ecological research on this species.

Further Information:

www.goldschakal.at
www.facebook.com/Goldschakalprojekt
www.youtube.com/channel/UCcG2NnLC56YA22ezjs1cY3w