Community Ecology SESSION T4

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NEW Proposed and added for the 4IJS by Dr Hiroshi Tsunoda

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Conservation Policy and Carnivore Dynamics: Divergent Strategies in Wolf–Golden Jackal–Red Fox Communities Across Greece, Italy, and Romania

Giorgos Giannatos^*, Luca Lapini, Ovidiu C. Banea

an overview

• Three wild species (i.e. wolf, golden jackal and red fox)

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• “vermin” status since 1992 persecuted by all means, including systematic poisoning with strychnine until mid ‘80s

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• since lifting of ”vermin” status, the populations of these canids start to rebound and expanded.

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• Wolf:

- expanded since mid-1980s. Widespread in all continental Greece / historic disstribution

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• Jackal:

- expanded since late 1990s and early 21st century/ Widespread in all continental Greece out of historic distribution

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Canids in Greece

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Jackal: 2025. Georgiakakis P., Papaioannoy D.H., Papamichael G., Hatzirvasanis V., 2025. Deliverable 7.4.1. “Mammal species reference forms and accompanying geographic records”, GEOANALYSI SA., pp. 18.

Jackal in Greece

Opportunistic attack. Video Youtube University of Sassari

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Who was responsible for this?

ANY QUESTIONS?

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�Luca Lapini��Gojage - Golden Jackal informal study Group Europe; ATit - Associazione Teriologica italiana; GLAMM - Group for Large Mammals Conservation and Management (formerly Zoology Section of Friulian Natural History Museum, Udine)���Carnivore Dynamics in Wolf-Golden Jackals-Red fox Communities Across Greece, Italy, and Romania� ��

�4° International Symposium on Golden Jackal and correlates species (4I JS) Tulcea, Romania, 7-10 October 2026� ��

• �Family portrait from the Italian Alpine Mountain Chain�from left to right: pregnant female, grooming adult male, young helper female of one year, foster mom for the new litter��Province of Belluno (Veneto, NE Italy), April, 16th, 2024, 20:13 Photo E. De Zolt� ��

Golden jackal�

Canis aureus is considered species of Communitary Interest by EU, that protect the species in the V Attachment of the Habitat Directive 43/92. In Italy it is also integrally protected by the National Law 157/92 (at present in revision). In this country the species suffer high rates of road mortality and poaching, these last mainly conducted with the distribution of poisoned baits. In Italy the golden jackal cause low level of social alarm, similar to those caused by the red fox. Damage prevention with electric fences and sheperd dogs easily riduce these local conflicts.

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From: Loy et al., 2025. Atlas of Mammals in Italy .

Belvedere editions.

(for editorial reasons the Atlas has been

Only partially updated)

Canis aureus Golden Jackal (Distribution Map not updated, probably referred to the situation of 2020)

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-Population: Probably less than 700 specimens

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-Problems: road mortality, poaching

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-Conflicts: livestock farming (poultry and sheep), hunting (hunters fear that it will affect roe deer and hare populations)

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-Legal Protection: V annex of the Habitat Directive 43/92 CEE, National Protection Law 157/92 (in revision)

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-Social Alarm: low (mainly poultry and sheep predation)

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Canis lupus is considered species of Communitary Interest by EU. Formerly Strictly Protected, has been recently downlisted to the V Attachment of the Habitat Directive 43/92. In Italy it remains strictly protected by (National Law 157/92), but this law at present is in revision, because grey wolf causes quite high social alarm. In Italian Peninsula the species suffers high rates of road killing and poaching, mainly conducted with the distribution of poisoned baits. To reduce conflicts with livestock farming, the Italian government has recently established low culling rates of wolves, but the fixed values (3-5% of the local regional population) don’t solve any problem. Damage prevention with electric fences and sheperd dogs surely remains the only possible measures to adopt to ensure pacific cohabitation with wolves.

From: Loy et al., 2025. Atlas of Mammals in Italy .

Belvedere editions.

(for editorial reasons the Atlas has been

Only partially updated)

Canis lupus Grey wolf (Distribution Map not updated, probably referred to the situation of 2020)

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-Population: At present probably about 3000 specimens

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-Problems: road mortality, poaching

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-Conflicts: livestock farming, hunting

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-Legal Protection: V annex of the Habitat Directive 43/92 CEE, National Protection Law 157/92 (in revision)

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-Social Alarm: High (livestock predation, recent increase in number of «problematic confidential wolves»)

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Vulpes vulpes in Italy is common, ubiquitous and widespread. Considered protected as inalienable state property, in some periods of the year and in various Regions it is considered a game species, subject to game control for both cynegetic and zooprofylactic reasons (National Law 157/92). In Italy the species suffer high rates of road mortality and poaching, conducted using firearms, traps and poisened baits. Damage prevention with good fences and dogs usually riduce local conflicts, which are quite well tolerated.

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Vulpes vulpes Red fox

(Distribution Map not updated, probably referred to the situation of 2020)

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-Population: no available estimates, probably about 200.000 specimens

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-Problems: road mortality, poaching

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-Conflicts: livestock farming (mainly poultry), hunting (hunters fear that it will affect hare and pheasant populations)

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-Legal Protection: limited (National Law 157/92)

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-Social Alarm: low (mainly poultry, hares and pheasants predation)

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From: Loy et al., 2025. Atlas of Mammals in Italy .

Belvedere editions.

(for editorial reasons the Atlas has been

Only partially updated)

Intra-guild competition between wild canids in Italy is increasingly clear in the whole Italian Peninsula. This phenomenon seems to be trirangular, involving Wolves, Jackals, Foxes, but sometimes include domestic dogs. The wolf kills all these wild and domestic canids, sometimes consuming their carcasses. At least 7 golden jackals and various foxes and domestic dogs have been recently killed by wolves between Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige (northeastern Italy). In these Regions, anyway, fox densities also seems to be impacted by local high number of jackals. The interrelations between carnivores modified by Canis aureus arrival is surely one of the most interesting topic of future research.

EU Protection strategies will to be recalibrated also in light of this new framework of ecological correlations.

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Golden jackal

Red fox

Grey wolf

Canis aureus, female, probably killed by wolves on the tourist beach of Caorle, Venezia (Veneto Region), February, 28th, 2026, Courtesy of M. Cappelletto.

1929 First Official record

Ghidici, Dolj (Călinescu 1931)

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1954 Focșani (EAST)

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1970 Berveni (WEST)

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1980 Jackals reappeared in Dobrudja (Angelescu 2004)

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1984 First reproductive groups in South Dobrudja

Almășan (1995) și Murariu & Munteanu (2005)

Canis aureus moreoticus,

I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1836

https://www.lcie.org/Large-carnivores/Golden-jackal

EUROPE

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French zoologist, he coined the therm ethology in 1854

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Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Southeast Europe

Link - LCIE Status Assessment 2017-2022/23

Saraiu, 2021

INTRAGUILD COMPPETITION? FOX?

14 Golden Jackals in a waste dump Photo: Baldo Mirkovic, 2015 Peljesac Peninsula Croatia

Monitoring Golden Jackal

Lunca Siretului 2020 Autor: Cosmin A. Țâru ACDB VRANCEA

Bimodal approach

Lunca Siretului 2020 Autor: Cosmin A. Țâru ACDB VRANCEA

Lunca Siretului 2020 Autor: Cosmin A. Țâru ACDB VRANCEA

Lunca Siretului 2020 Author: Cosmin A. Țâru

Canis aureus & Lepus europaeus

Jackal species Invasiveness and Habitat invasibility in Crispus CIOTICA LABORATORY 2015, 2017 GOJAGE INTERNATIONAL TEAM HIGHLY PROTECTED ZONE

Sacalin-Zatoane (21.410 ha.)

Failure of the Management Plans in Romania ?

• Erbivorous and bird game species decrease (?) on hunting terrains
• Attacks on livestock and calves
• Golden Jackal - Farmer - Hunter Conflicts
• Excessive growing of the golden jackal population, which is in contrast with the harvest quotas which are approved now for more than 80%
• News with a negative impact on species awareness
• Hunting and poaching

Legal framework ​(Annex Va and VI from the EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC)

1. Community Interest species​ listed in Annex Va together with pine marten (​Martes martes​), European polecat (​Mustela putorius​) and chamois(​Rupicapra rupicapra​).

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• Monitoring of conservation status is an obligation arising from Article 11. Data need to be collected both in and outside the Natura2000 network to achieve a full appreciation of the conservation status. The main results of this monitoring need to be reported to the Commission every six years according to Article17 of the directive.

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• Article14 places a requirement for further surveillance of exploited species of flora and fauna listed in Annex V where necessary. Only after monitoring and scientific reports to the Commission, management measures can be assessed.

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• When management measures are applied in case of​ the golden jackal or chamois a series of hunting methods should be avoided. These hunting methods which are​ prohibited are listed in the Annex VI

Asymmetric QUOTAS with RED FOX in Bulgaria and Romania

Red Fox (red) and Golden Jackal (gray) harvested in 2014

Red Fox

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versus

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Golden Jackal

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in Romania

LOCOREGIONAL

• Giurgiu realized harvest quota of 57.4%, while Gov approved 96%,
• Ialomița realized 64% (Gov 99%),
• Cluj showed HQ of 39,6% (Gov 82%) and
• Satu Mare realized a HQ of 61% (Gov 82%).

THE DIFFERENCE, Hypothesis

Jackals showed an increased abundance of up to 258 shot jackals in Ialomita and Giurgiu and remained with less than 29 and 75 individuals removed in Cluj and Satu Mare where the number of shot foxes is almost double (1239 in Cluj and 1046 in Satu Mare) than in the counties from the South; Giurgiu (540), Ialomita (614).

Is Red Fox aggressive hunting and the Red Fox abundance a limiting factor for jackal spreading and establishment?

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Reproduction: Research hypothesis CRISPUS Sibiu, Romania

Reproduction biology and survival rate in autumn

Caninae uterine horns

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Long arms: horns

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The uterine horns extend from each ovary and join to form the body of the uterus

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Source photo: https://www.midwoofery.com/post/the-tres-amigos-calcium-oxytocin-and-glucose

Photo: 2023 Iliuta Goean

#descoperadeltadunarii

Territorial behaviour versus loss of territoriality (hunting)

Grazie per la vostra attenzione

Ovidiu C. Banea

Email: ovidiubanea(at)gmail.com Photo: Alexandra Ion