The Golden Jackal, (Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758), or simply jackal, is a medium-sized canid, widespread in south-eastern and central Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East and south-eastern Asia. It is a social species that lives in family nuclei, consisting of pairs accompanied by their cubs.
It is an extremely adaptable animal, able to exploit a wide variety of food resources, from fruits and insects to young deer and wild boar.
The golden jackal is very similar to the grey wolf in general appearance, but is distinguished from it by its smaller size, lighter weight, shorter limbs, more elongated thorax and shorter tail. It is mainly hunted in the countryside and in the woods bordering the Danube. Hunting takes place at dawn in open areas where there is a jackal presence and in the evening searching with outriders and weapons with thermal optics.