Golden jackal
Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758
The golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a mammal of the family Canidae in the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore of forest and grassland habitats, with an adult body mass from 10 to 11 kg.
Quick facts about the golden jackal
Gestation lasts 62.39 days (up to 63 days), a litter holds 3.95 young (up to 5.7), sexual maturity comes at 334 days, and lifespan is 16 years, up to 18.8 years. The golden jackal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 10 kg – 11 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 16 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 18.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forest, grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 62.4 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.95 – 5.7src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.05src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the golden jackal
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the golden jackal live?
Not recorded
What is the golden jackal?
The golden jackal (Canis aureus), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller and has shorter legs, a shorter tail, a more elongated torso, a less-prominent forehead, and a narrower and more pointed muzzle than the Arabian wolf. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its widespread distribution and high density in areas with plenty of available food and optimum shelter.
Despite its name, the golden jackal is not closely related to the African black-backed jackal or the side-striped jackal, which are part of the genus Lupulella. It is instead closer to wolves and coyotes. The ancestor of the golden jackal is believed to be the extinct Arno river dog that lived in southern Europe 1.9 million years ago. It is described as having been a small, jackal-like canine. Genetic studies indicate that the golden jackal expanded from India around 20,000 years ago, towards the end of the last Last Glacial Maximum. The oldest golden jackal fossil, found at the Ksar Akil rock shelter near Beirut, Lebanon, is 7,600 years old. The oldest golden jackal fossils in Europe were found in Greece and are 7,000 years old. There are six subspecies of the golden jackal. It is capable of producing fertile hybrids with both the gray wolf and the African wolf. Jackal–dog hybrids called Sulimov dogs are in service at the Sheremetyevo Airport near Moscow, where they are deployed by the Russian airline Aeroflot for scent-detection.
The golden jackal is abundant in valleys and beside rivers and their tributaries, canals, lakes, and seashores; however, the species is rare in foothills and low mountains. It is a social species, the basic social unit of which consists of a breeding pair and any young offspring. It is very adaptable, with the ability to exploit food ranging from fruit and insects to small ungulates. It attacks domestic fowl and domestic mammals up to the size of domestic water buffalo calves. Its competitors are the red fox, steppe wolf, jungle cat, Caucasian wildcat, the raccoon in the Caucasus and in Central Asia, and the Asiatic wildcat. It is expanding beyond its native grounds in from Southeast Europe into Central Europe as far as France and the Baltic region into areas where there are few or no wolves.
From the Wikipedia article “Golden jackal” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_jackal&oldid=1382805010), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the golden jackal sound like?
Is the golden jackal endangered?
The golden jackal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the golden jackal classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyCanidae
- genusCanis
- SpeciesCanis aureus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Aureus aureus, Canis anthus, Canis anthus soudanicus, Canis aureus algirensis, Canis aureus anthus, Canis aureus aureus, Canis aureus balcanicus, Canis aureus bea, Canis aureus cruesemanni, Canis aureus ecsedensis, Canis aureus hungaricus, Canis aureus indicus, Canis aureus minor, Canis aureus moreotica, Canis aureus naria, Canis aureus qattarensis, Canis aureus riparius, Canis aureus soudanicus, Canis aureus syriacus, Canis aureus typicus, Canis aureus var. algira, Canis aureus var. barbarus, Canis aureus var. caucasica, Canis aureus var. indica, Canis aureus var. moreotica, Canis aureus var. nubica, Canis aureus var. senegalensis, Canis aureus var. syriaco, Canis aureus vulgaris, Canis barbarus, Canis cruesemanni, Canis dalmatinus, Canis gallaensis, Canis graecus, Canis hadramaticus, Canis indicus, Canis indicus kola, Canis lanka, Canis lupaster doederleini, Canis lupus minor, Canis mengesi, Canis naria, Canis riparius, Canis sacer, Canis somalicus, Canis studeri, Canis syriacus, Canis thooides, Canis variegatus, Sacalius aureus, Sacalius indicus, Thos aureus, Thos aureus algirensis, Thos aureus anthus, Thos aureus bea, Thos aureus ecsedensis, Thos aureus lupaster, Thos aureus maroccanus, Thos aureus soudanicus, Thos gallaensis, Thos lamperti, Thos lupaster maroccanus, Thous anthus, Thous sengalensi, Thous variegatus, Vulpes indiae orientalis
Other names and names in other languages (86)
- Asian jackalEnglish
- Asiatic jackalEnglish
- Asiatic jackalEnglish
- Common jackalEnglish
- Common jackalEnglish
- Eurasian golden jackalEnglish
- JackalEnglish
- Reed wolfEnglish
- Ibn AweeArabic
- ذئب القصبArabic
- ابن آوى الآسيويArabic
- ابن آوى الذهبيArabic
- ابن آوى الشائعArabic
- ابن آوى الشرقيArabic
- ذئب النمساوي المجريArabic
- Chacal comúnAragonese
- শিয়ালAssamese
- ГӀангурAvaric
- পাতিশিয়ালBangla
- Xacal dauratCatalan
- šakal obecnýCzech
- Šakal obecný/Šakal zlatýCzech
- GuldsjakalDanish
- SchilfwolfGerman
- GoldschakalGerman
- Χρυσό ΤσακάλιGreek
- Χρυσόμαλλο τσακάλιGreek
- OrakaloEsperanto
- ChacalSpanish
- Chacal doradoSpanish
- ŠaakalEstonian
- Harilik šaakalEstonian
- ShoghalPersian
- شغال زردPersian
- شغال طلاییPersian
- KultasakaaliFinnish
- Chacal CommunFrench
- Chacal doréFrench
- શિયાળGujarati
- Zlatni šakal / Златни шакалSerbian (Latin)
- תן זהובHebrew
- सियारHindi
- ČagaljCroatian
- Zlatni čagaljCroatian
- AranysakálHungarian
- Սովորական շնագայլArmenian
- Sciacallo DoratoItalian
- キンイロジャッカルJapanese
- Шие-бөріKazakh
- 황금자칼Korean
- TurgKurdish
- ChagalKurdish
- лелевLezghian
- чакъалLezghian
- zeltainais šakālisLatvian
- чакалMacedonian
- XakallMaltese
- सोनेरी कोल्हाMarathi
- gullsjakalNorwegian Bokmål
- JakhalsDutch
- Gewone JakhalsDutch
- GoudjakhalsDutch
- Szakal ZlocistyPolish
- Szakal ZłocistyPolish
- Chacal-douradoPortuguese
- ŞakalRomanian
- Șacal auriuRomanian
- Обыкновенный шакалRussian
- Шакал обыкновенныйRussian
- හිවලාSinhala
- Šakal zlatýSlovak
- Zlati šakalSlovenian
- CakalliAlbanian
- Çakalli i artëAlbanian
- ŠakalSerbian
- обични шакалSerbian
- guldschakalSwedish
- Bweha DhahabuSwahili
- Bweha Wa MbuganiSwahili
- ꠢꠤꠀꠟsyl
- หมาจิ้งจอกThai
- ÇakalTurkish
- Altın ÇakalTurkish
- ШакалUkrainian
- 金豺Chinese
- 亞洲胡狼Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the golden jackal
Other species in the same genus Canis.
Wolf
Canis lupus
Coyote
Canis latrans
Ethiopian wolf
Canis simensis
Dog
Canis familiaris
Thoa
Canis lupaster
CompareGolden jackal vs WolfGolden jackal vs CoyoteGolden jackal vs Ethiopian wolfGolden jackal vs Canis etruscus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is a golden jackal?
An adult golden jackal weighs 10.35 kg, with reported values from 10 to 11 kg.
What does the golden jackal eat?
The golden jackal is a carnivore.
Is the golden jackal endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a golden jackal live?
The golden jackal has a lifespan of 16 years, with values up to 18.8 years reported.
How many young does a golden jackal have?
A golden jackal litter holds 3.95 young, up to 5.7, with 1.05 litters per year after a gestation of 62.39 days.
What kind of animal is the golden jackal?
The golden jackal is a mammal in the family Canidae and the genus Canis.
What habitats does the golden jackal live in?
The golden jackal lives in forest and grassland habitats and is terrestrial and nocturnal.
Who named the golden jackal?
The golden jackal, Canis aureus, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Golden jackal (Canis aureus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/golden-jackal
“Golden jackal (Canis aureus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/golden-jackal.
@misc{golden_jackal_2026,
title = {Golden jackal (Canis aureus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/golden-jackal},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}