Males and females alike mark their territory by spraying, primarily during the mating season. Each jackal species communicates through its own repertoire of calls. Golden jackals use a wide inventory of howls to locate one another. The golden jackal is the most northerly of jackal species, and also the most widely distributed. It overlaps biotopes only with the black-backed jackal in East African savannas.
Golden jackals prefer dry open country, arid short grasslands and steppe landscapes.
They benefit agriculture by preventing increases in the number of rodents and lagomorphs. They are sometimes hunted for their fur. Golden jackals that are hand-raised can be tamed and kept in houses. The golden jackal raids crops such as corn, sugarcane and watermelon. Other Comments Golden jackals live eight to nine years in the wild and up to sixteen in captivity.