For the first time in Bavaria, a golden jackal has killed livestock. In the Weilheim-Schongau district in Upper Bavaria, a golden jackal killed four lambs, the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (LfU) confirmed on Friday. The golden jackal is closely related to the wolf, but much smaller and shyer. According to the LfU, it is not dangerous for humans.
“The golden jackal is only slightly larger than a fox and resembles it in its prey-catching behavior,” said an LfU spokesman. The golden jackal lives in Southeast Asia and Southeast Europe, among other places. It is now also being sighted more and more frequently in northern and western Europe. The first golden jackal in Germany appeared in Brandenburg in 1997. The first animal of the genus was discovered in Bavaria in 2012. Since then, according to the LfU, there have been a total of nine pieces of evidence and a further 14 indications in the Free State.
Golden jackals are named after their mostly golden yellow fur. The animals are omnivores. They feed on insects, rodents, birds, amphibians and other small animals, among other things. The LfU only found out with a DNA analysis that the four lambs were killed by a golden jackal near the town of Huglfing in Upper Bavaria. For the owner, the result is bad news. He would only have received compensation if it had been a so-called large predator, i.e. wolf, bear or lynx. According to the LfU, a corresponding regulation for the golden jackal would first have to be examined, including inclusion in the Bavarian hunting law.