2018Estonian Fauna - Golden Jackal - First Day Cover

The jackal or golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a predator in the genus Canis and family Candidae. There are 13 sub-species of the jackal. The golden jackal is the only jackal that lives outside of Africa. This is a very adaptive species that can subsist on anything available and live in diverse areas, including savannas of Africa, Caucasus Mountains and forests of India. In Estonia, a wild jackal was first spotted in the Matsalu National Park in February 2013. To that day, it was assumed that the closest natural habitats are thousands of kilometres away in Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Eastern Ukraine. Jackals can traverse long distances in a group, and this enables them to inhabit areas outside the habitat in a short period of time. The golden jackal is similar to the grey wolf but is distinguished by its smaller size, lighter weight, proportionally more elongated torso, shorter legs and tail. Its sand-coloured hair is particularly dark yellow with a tint of black in it. The tail is russet and has a black tip. Unlike other jackals, the golden jackals can show fangs. In 2013, the Environmental Board allowed to hunt the jackal as a foreign species because the rise of its population endangers ground-nesting birds and small mammals.