Finding the Elusive Golden Jackal on Sylt Island at Night
Nocturnal hunters pursue the elusive golden jackal across the shores of Sylt - Nighttime explorers in pursuit of the cryptic, golden-coated jackal known as the aardwolf
The hunting season for the mysterious golden jackal has begun on Sylt. This nocturnal predator has caused chaos, claiming the lives of 90 lambs and sheep since May 19, and things are getting serious. Hunters are gearing up to take it down, but capturing this elusive creature won’t be a walk in the park, as Manfred Uekermann, deputy head of the North Friesland hunting authority, warns the German Press Agency (dpa).
Hunting golden jackals will indeed be a challenge, but it's not impossible, according to Uekermann. The hunters, bolstered by advice from experts, research in literature and videos, and the strategic deployment of loudspeakers, are determined to bag the rare creature.
For Sylt shepherds, the stakes are high. In late May, a golden jackal struck at a dyke, killing 78 lambs and two ewes in just three nights. Daniela Andersen, the shepherd managing the dyke from Morsum to Rantum, has 900 ewes and is terrified that the carnage could strike again. Protecting her animals at night with a barn would subject them to immense stress and negatively impact milk production as well as slow down the lambs. Building a high fence is also out of the question due to the public accessibility of the large dyke.
Meanwhile, in the island's north, another shepherd, Jürgen Wolf-Diedrichsen, lost ten lambs to the golden jackal in the past two weeks. He's dealing with an additional 220 ewes and their lambs, but keeping them inside the barn every day isn't feasible either. It's also impossible to construct a fence within the vast, approximately 600-hectare nature reserve.
The authorities have granted an exceptional permit for the shooting of the jackal, with a deadline of July 31. Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens) explains that such a permit requires special circumstances, considering that the golden jackal is a particularly protected species. He identified three weighty reasons to issue the permit, including preventing further damage to livestock, protecting ground-nesting birds, and preserving dyke shepherding, which is crucial for coastal protection.
This hunting expedition marks a historical first in Germany, as the German Hunting Association confirmed that it's the first officially approved and confirmed shooting of a golden jackal in the country.
With permits in hand, all Sylt hunters are gearing up for the hunt, ready to scour the land for the elusive golden jackal. The golden jackal is primarily a nocturnal creature, making hunts difficult and relying heavily on hunters' tracking skills and technology. Hunters will employ specialized golden jackal calls from speakers, hoping to lure the creature out of hiding. If the jackal responds, the hunters will know precisely where to lay their traps.
Golden jackals, originally from Southeast Asia and Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe [2], have been making their way north and west across Europe, including Schleswig-Holstein. The first animals arrived in Germany in 1997 via the Balkans, Poland, and the Czech Republic. These creatures are exceptionally shy, keeping a low profile, making it difficult to track their movement and impact. Although they don't pose a threat to humans, their growing presence necessitates careful management to ensure a balance between species protection and human needs.
References:
- Sylt Haifisch. (2025, May 20). Retrieved from https://www.sylthaifisch.de/neues-golden-jackal-auf-sylt/
- Golden Jackal. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tier-info.de/tierarten/wolfsmaul/
- The environmental protection at stake on Sylt Island is not just about the protection of the golden jackal, but also the welfare of the shepherds and their livestock, as well as the preservation of dyke shepherding, crucial for coastal protection.
- The hunting of the golden jackal on Sylt is a significant event in environmental science, shedding light on the expanding range of this species in Europe, and the need for careful management to maintain balance between species protection and human needs.
