Nighttime Jackal Hunt on Sylt Island's Exciting Turn
- Kickin' it old school Hunters in Sylt Island are on the hunt for an elusive golden jackal. Since May 19, this nocturnal creature has taken down a staggering 90 sheep and lambs on the island, and it's time to take matters into their own hands.
Nocturnal Golden Jackal on the Prowl in Sylt: Local Hunter Pursues Rare Canid Species at Night - Night-time hunt for the elusive, precious Nocturnal Gold Jackal
Golden jackal hunt ain't no walk in the park, warned Manfred Uekermann, the deputy head of the North Friesland hunting authority, to the German Press Agency (dpa). "This is gonna be a real barn burner, but it ain't impossible." The hunters have enlisted experts, boned up on specialist literature, and even brought in loudspeakers to help 'em out.
Sylt shepherds are restless
At the end of May, the golden jackal made off with 78 little lambs and two ewes in a blink of an eye on a dyke, as reported by the affected shepherd from Keitum dyke to dpa. Shepherd Daniela Andersen tends the dyke from Morsum to hip-deep Rantum, and she's totin' 900 ewes in all. "Each day, that fear's gnawin' at me that it's gonna happen again."
She can't guard her critters every night in a barn: "That'd be a whole new level of stress for the animals if I'm drivin' 'em in every night with dogs and a damn car - it's like they're bein' hunted." This situation also impacts the milk production of the mamas, and lord knows them little lambs ain't exactly speed demons. A high fence ain't much good on the large, publicly accessible dyke.
Dead lambs litter Sylt's dunes
The golden jackal's reign of terror didn't stop at the dyke; it ventured into Sylt's northwesterly woods too. In the Lister Ellenbogen nature reserve, the responsible shepherd lost ten lambs over the past two weeks. Shepherd Jürgen Wolf-Diedrichsen also reported that just as many animals were injured, and he found bite marks all over them.
He can't lock his 220 ewes and their lambs inside a barn either. "That's just plain stupid. I can't round 'em all up every day - the area's too damn big and it'd stress the critters out even more." A fence also ain't feasible for that hundred-and-some acre plot.
Golden jackal faces the bullet
The State Office for the Environment granted a permit for shootin' the jackal, as announced by the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Environment. The permit became official on the first of June and lasts until the end of July. The golden jackal ain't normally fair game in Schleswig-Holstein.
Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens) stressed that the golden jackal is a particularly protected species. An exception permit for shootin' requires special circumstances. "In this case, there are three hefty reasons, so I'll give the State Office for the Environment some support."
The aim is to stop any more livestock damage, and the jackal poses a threat to ground-nestin' birds. "Moreover, dyke sheep farmers have a special significance for coastal protection."
It'd be the first officially approved and confirmed shootin' of a golden jackal in Germany, as stated by the German Hunting Association (DJV).
Hunt on Sylt ain't gonna be easy
All Sylt hunters with the right permits can go after the golden jackal, Uekermann said. The Sylt hunting association oversees ten areas with around 120 hunters, with about 20 to 30 of 'em actively joinin' the hunt. Their arsenal meets the legal standards for instant killin' the beast. Tranquilizin' and capturin' ain't on the menu - the hunters gotta get real close using darts.
Hunt with sounds
Thomas Diedrichsen, the deputy leader of the hunting association, is orchestratin' the hunt. The jackal was spotted in Rantum on the night of Thursday to Friday. Hunters made an attempt to draw it in with golden jackal calls blarin' from speakers.
"If this furry beast responds to the calls, you know where it is," Diedrichsen said. He don't see another choice but to take the jackal down. "Then we might as well kiss sheep farming goodbye."
Golden jackals on the prowl
Golden jackals are descendants of Southeast Asia, Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, according to the German Wildlife Foundation. The first bunch of 'em showed up in Germany back in 1997 via the Balkans, Poland, and the Czech Republic. These days, they're croppin' up in most German states, just like a weed. Unlike livestock, they pose no threat to folks.
The first sightin' in Schleswig-Holstein was in 2017, in the Dithmarschen district. Since then, the number of jackal encounters in the state has grown. There were five sightings between May 2024 and April 2025, as the Kiel Environment Ministry announced in mid-April. Schleswig-Holstein is a dang fine habitat for the golden jackal.
- To mitigate the impact on both the community and the environment, it's crucial for the hunters to ensure their strategies for capturing the golden jackal are humane, prioritizing environmental protection and the well-being of other wildlife.
- As the golden jackal is a protected species, it's essential for the community, environmentalists, and hunters to work together to find long-term solutions that benefit the health and the environment of Sylt Island, such as implementing measures to protect ground-nesting birds and encouraging sustainable farming practices.
