Jackal in hide: detection dogs show first success in the quest for golden jackal (Canis aureus) scats

Abstract Golden jackal (Canis aureus) monitoring in central Europe generates more interest and becomes increasingly important with the species’ appearance in areas where it was previously unestablished. For genetic monitoring of golden jackals via scat collection, the distinction of jackal scats from those of related species such as the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is crucial: if done incorrectly, it can falsify diet studies or inflate costs of DNA analyses. In this study, we tested the potential benefits of using domestic dogs to specifically find jackal scats. We used trained scat detection dogs to locate and identify golden jackal scats in an area of dense shrubland, with the species’ presence previously confirmed via bioacoustic monitoring. On a total of 133 km of transects covering at least two golden jackal groups, two human-dog teams found 34 putative golden jackal scats. A total of 26 of these were successfully genetically analysed, of which 19 were attributed to 13 individual golden jackals, an accuracy rate of 73%. Our results show that detection dogs can successfully differentiate golden jackal scats from other species. This tool can be applied to detect golden jackal presence and establish more reliable estimates of group number and size than previously determined through bioacoustic stimulation. By combining both methods, questions about family structures and kinship, seasonal differences in habitat use and territory sizes can be answered. The regular use of detection dogs can present an efficient method to monitor golden jackals on a long-term basis and to learn more about their behaviour and population dynamics.