Home range, habitat selection, density, and diet of golden jackals in the Eastern Plains Landscape, Cambodia

Abstract

We used radiocollars and GPS collars to determine the movements and habitat selection of golden jackals (Canis aureus) in a seasonally dry deciduous forest with no human settlements in eastern Cambodia. We also collected and analyzed 147 scats from jackals to determine their seasonal diet and prey selection. The mean (± SE) annual size of home-range ranges (47.1 ± 2.5 km2; n = 4), which were mutually exclusive between mated pairs, was considerably larger than that previously reported for this species, resulting in an extremely low density (0.01 jackal/km2). The unusually large home ranges and low density probably were due to the harsh dry season when most understory vegetation is burned and nearly all waterholes dry up, thereby causing a large seasonal decline in the availability of small vertebrate prey. Resident groups consisted of an alpha pair, but no betas, and were situated only in areas not occupied by leopards (Panthera pardus) and dholes (Cuon alpinus). Jackals avoided dense forests and streams, and had a strong selection for dirt roads, possibly to avoid larger predators. Overall the jackal diet was diverse, with at least 16 prey items identified, and there was no significant difference in diet composition between the cool-dry and hot-dry seasons. Scat analysis showed that the main food items consumed by jackals were processional termites (Hospitalitermes spp.; 26% biomass consumed), followed by wild pig (Sus scrofa; 20%), muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis; 20%), and civets (17%). Compared to available biomass, jackals were not random in their consumption of ungulates because muntjac were selectively consumed over larger ungulate species. Dietary overlap with dholes and leopards was relatively low, and consumption patterns indicated jackals were preying on ungulates rather than scavenging from kills of larger carnivores. Our results showed that the jackal is an extremely adaptable and opportunistic species that exhibits unique behaviors to survive in an extreme environment near the edge of its distribution.

From the Balkan towards Western Europe: Range expansion of the golden jackal (Canis aureus)—A climatic niche modeling approach

“…This means that the minimum distance between two occurrences in the final data set is at least 50 km. This largely exceeds the home range, which is given with different sizes in the literature, e.g., 11.2 km 2 on average with a range of 1.3–32.5 km 2 according to Fenton et al ( 2021 ) or about 47.1 ± 2.5 km 2 according to Kamler et al ( 2021 ).…”

Density and occupancy of leopard cats across different forest types in Cambodia

“…Nonetheless, previous studies showed that the occupancy of leopard cats was not affected by the presence of Asian golden cats (Kamler et al 2020a) or jungle cats (Rostro-García et al 2021), indicating leopard cats might not spatially avoid meso-felids. Furthermore, leopard cats were not found in the scats of Asian golden cats (Kamler et al 2020a), jungle cats (Rostro-García et al 2021), and jackals (Kamler et al 2021), indicating this small felid might not be preyed upon frequently by these mesocarnivores. Regardless, we recommend that future studies examine in more detail if mesocarnivores affect the density or occupancy of leopard cats.…”

Biomimetic and Biophilic Design of Multifunctional Symbiotic Lichen–Schwarz Metamaterial

“…Like the biomimetics of symbiosis in nature, [43,54,55] SLSM benefits from the sole function provided by the lichen to regulate the ambient humidity. Without it, the P-type TPMS has absolutely zero capability of absorbing or releasing moisture into its surrounding environment.…”