Gold jackal spreads out in NRW: new predator sightings in the Ruhr area!

Gold jackal spreads out in NRW: new predator sightings in the Ruhr area!

A rare predator causes excitement in North Rhine-Westphalia! The gold jackal, a shy creature, spreads quickly in the region and ensures first sightings, even in the Ruhr area. The citizens are alarmed because the consequences of this expansion are still unclear. After the wolf and the sea eagle, the gold jackal is the next new addition in the animal world of NRW. The first evidence dates from late summer 2020 when a gold jackal tore wild and farm animals in Mülheim an der Ruhr and Kranenburg in the district of Kleve.

On November 15, 2022, a gold jackal was filmed by a game camera in the Kerstheide landscape protection area near Hamm in the northern Ruhr area. Experts agree: Further sightings are only a matter of time! Felix Böcker from the Baden-Württemberg forest and research institute warns that the animal will spread further in Germany. So far there has been no evidence of young people in NRW, but that could also change soon.

gold jackal on the advance: What does that mean for NRW?

The adaptability of the gold jackal is impressive. These animals feel comfortable in structured agricultural landscapes as well as in forests and wetlands. Originally from North Africa, Southeast Europe and large parts of Asia, the population in Europe has increased significantly since the 1990s. It is estimated that between 70,000 and 117,000 gold jackals live in 19 European countries.

The mild winter and summer are called summer in Europe favor the spread of these predators. But do the citizens of NRW now have to fear for their pets? Gold jackals are able to tear farm animals, but they are also shy and avoid confrontations. The exact effects on the ecosystem in Germany are still unclear, but it remains to be seen what the monitoring of the stocks will look like in the future. The excitement over the gold jackal is great - it remains to be seen how the Situation will develop!