The "jackal" in "jackals, wolves, tigers and leopards" not only rarely appears on screen, but is also often confused with wolves!

The first time I encountered a northern jackal was in the Qilian Mountains in northwest China, one day during the Spring Festival of 2023. We drove into the mountains as usual, and suddenly turned a corner and saw two jackals in front of us.

These are jackals. I was very surprised because I had never thought I could actually see them in the wild. These two jackals were eating blue sheep . The smaller one was more cautious and ran behind a rock when it saw us, while the slightly larger one was probably a little reluctant to part with the prey it had just caught. Even after noticing us, it did not leave and continued to eat courageously.

We watched for about two or three minutes. After a while, the jackal actually walked towards us. It was only about 20 to 30 meters away from us. We were a little scared at the time. I even started to worry about my colleagues who were taking pictures outside the car. But it quickly turned around and left, probably to meet up with its previous companions. Finally, under our watchful eyes, it disappeared into the valley. This was the first time I encountered a jackal in Qilian Mountain .

jackals, tigers, and leopards

When it comes to jackals, the first words that come to mind are probably "jackals, wolves, tigers and leopards". Compared to the other three animals, jackals are probably the least frequently seen. Even in zoos, jackals are a relatively rare species.

Many times people confuse "jackals" and "wolves", but in fact they are two independent species, both belonging to the family Canidae.

Compared to wolves, jackals are smaller, roughly the size of the border collie we are more familiar with. The reddish-brown hair is a very recognizable feature of jackals, but sometimes they are mistaken for "red foxes". Of course, the size of northern jackals is much larger than red foxes, and they are more sturdy.

Figure 1, Figure 2: Jackal; Figure 3: Red Fox; Figure 4: Corgi;

In the idiom “jackals, wolves, tigers and leopards”, jackal comes first , which to a certain extent can explain that in the early days, jackals might have been widely distributed and were a relatively easy-to-see wild animal.

From the historical distribution map of jackals, we can see that historically, their distribution area has been from Russia to Central Asia, and then to South Asia and Southeast Asia. As the top predator in the ecosystem, jackals, like other large mammals, are greatly affected by human activities, and their natural habitats are constantly being lost and facing the risk of fragmentation.

At present, the distribution area of ​​jackals is mainly concentrated in the southern tropical and subtropical forest areas. In China, they are mainly distributed in the forest areas of southeastern Tibet and southwestern mountains, as well as the mountainous areas of Gansu and Qinghai. Among them, the Qilian Mountains and the Altun Mountains are home to a small number of northern jackal populations.

"The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass"

Compared with the southern jackals living in the tropical region of southern Asia, the northern jackals in the Qilian Mountains are larger, have longer hair, and are lighter in color, which makes them more adaptable to the cold and dry environment at high altitudes. “The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass” describes the environment in which the northern jackals live, and we have actually found the distribution of northern jackals in the “Yumen” mentioned in the ancient poem.

The red arrow points to the blue area

Yumen is located on the northern edge of the Qilian Mountain National Park . This area is close to the nature reserve but not within the scope of the reserve. It is affected by high-intensity human activities such as grazing, oil extraction, and mining, so the appearance of the jackal surprised us.

The place where the jackal was found is a mountain called Kulun Dawu , which means purple-red mountain in Mongolian. The brown hair of the northern jackal can easily hide in the environment, which is also a very typical habitat for the northern jackal.

We even found the nest of northern jackals here and recorded the rare breeding behavior of northern jackals. So we carried out a more in-depth investigation and research in this area, trying to understand the population size, home range, threat factors of northern jackals, and carry out protection work, and explore the coexistence of humans and jackals.

There are three people in our team. In addition to me, there is Li Yibin, a wildlife photographer who has recorded many wonderful images of northern jackals, and a local Mongolian herder boy named Na Yin .

Nayin is from the Subei Mongol Autonomous County in the south, where herders enjoy state grassland subsidies for rotational grazing throughout the year. In the northern Yumen City, herders do not receive subsidies, and livestock insurance is not perfect, so other industries have emerged in addition to grazing.

For example, to the north is the China National Petroleum Corporation's factory area, where a large number of oil extraction machines (commonly known as "kowtow machines") and factory equipment are deployed. There are also some illegal mining and poaching activities in the south, and the intensity of human interference is very high .

Investigation and protection

To understand the survival status of northern jackals under the influence of human activities, we mainly monitor them through infrared cameras . We set up infrared cameras on the mountains. When animals pass by, the cameras will automatically take photos or videos. In this way, we can investigate and record the survival of wild animals, especially northern jackals, while reducing interference with wild animals.

In addition to infrared camera monitoring, we also conducted some interviews with local herders, from whom we learned a lot about the local wildlife.

During this year and more, we captured 86 records of jackals and also mapped the activity range of northern jackals in the area for the first time.

We recorded up to 13 jackals in one frame at one time. In addition, we also recorded the first footage of northern jackals hunting .

Local herders describe jackals as very ferocious, biting the anal area of ​​their prey when hunting. This precious footage also shows us how jackals cooperate in hunting . We can see one jackal "locking the throat" while another "digging out the anus". Relying on teamwork, the jackals can capture prey that is larger than their own size.

There are other mammals living in the area where the northern jackals live, and the snow leopard is one of the "star" species. Our infrared camera captured a female snow leopard with her cubs . The little snow leopards are very cute, but also quite naughty. The mother snow leopard was marking with shaving marks, and the two little snow leopards came to scratch our infrared camera, and the camera, which was originally in good condition, fell to the ground. Unfortunately, our target species, the northern jackal, passed by here a few days later, but we only captured their feet and shadows.

In addition to the gratifying records, we also discovered some threats facing northern jackals. Because jackals prey on livestock, many local herders set animal traps and even use poison for retaliatory hunting, which poses a direct threat to northern jackals.

Infrared cameras captured some disabled individuals . The exposed wounds on their forelimbs were most likely caused by animal traps. Infrared cameras even captured a three-legged individual with a missing left forelimb, which was also likely caused by animal traps. In the wild, such severe injuries would seriously affect the individual's predation efficiency and their survival would be worrying . Subsequent infrared cameras never captured their images again, and it is highly likely that they did not survive the winter in the Qilian Mountains.

A jackal resting in a stone mortar and a herdsman’s home not far away

In conflicts between humans and animals, it is not only the jackals that are injured, but also the local herders . Compared with wild blue sheep, domesticated sheep are often easier for jackals to catch, so they often appear near the sheepfolds of herders.

Na Ying , a young herder in our team, is very interested in wild animals. There are often jackals next to his pasture, and the jackals would eat his sheep. Na Ying was actually very excited when he first found that the jackals had killed the sheep, and he even used an infrared camera to take pictures of the jackals eating the sheep. However, after a few years, the sheep suffered a lot of losses, and he did not receive corresponding compensation. According to him, he raised this group of jackals, but he did not receive any compensation . So later he began to struggle whether he should continue to participate in the investigation and protection of jackals.

Wang Laohan is a herdsman in Yumen. Yumen and Subei have different grazing methods. They herd sheep in the mountains in summer and return to the town in winter, and then spend money to buy fodder to feed cattle and sheep. Wang Laohan has lost 20 to 30 sheep to jackals every summer in the past two years, and he has no way to get compensation for the loss. So this summer he can no longer continue to raise sheep in his hometown where he has lived for a long time . He can only spend money to rent a farm on the outskirts of the city to continue his livelihood.

In addition to some retaliatory hunting caused by conflicts between humans and animals, we also found some poaching in the area. Although poaching does not target key species such as jackals or snow leopards, the animal traps set up will pose a greater threat to all wild animals in the area, including local herders and livestock .

Jackals appear in terraced mines

In addition, jackals are also facing the risk of losing their natural habitat . Many hills in the jackal distribution area will be developed into open-pit coal mines, and some areas will be developed into oil fields, resulting in a lot of natural space being occupied by human activities, especially in areas outside protected areas.

However, many wild animals, including jackals, have a strong ability to adapt to the environment . They can actually withstand certain disturbances caused by human activities. We can also find signs of jackal activities around some mines. However, their ability to withstand is limited after all. How to define the balance between the development of human society and the survival of wild animals is an issue that deserves in-depth discussion .

In the local area, sheepdogs and stray dogs are also a potential risk to wild jackals . The activity ranges of the two species overlap greatly and they are closely related, so some highly contagious diseases that are common in dogs can also pose a serious threat to wild jackals.

After discovering these problems, we need to take some conservation actions to try to improve the survival plight of northern jackals. We interviewed some stakeholders . In terms of conservation, conservation in different places or conservation management departments in different regions have different focuses. For example, the conservation work within the protected area is relatively comprehensive and standardized, while local departments outside the protected area may not have much energy and time to pay attention to it. As for local media and local companies, they may pay more attention to "star" species such as snow leopards, but lack support and investment in the protection of less-noticed species such as jackals.

We hope that some corresponding protection management can be carried out in areas outside this protected area, such as anti-poaching propaganda and joint patrol management. However, the human-animal conflict problem has always been a headache for us. If the local community and herders cannot have a good impression of the jackal species or even have some hatred for it, how can we carry out local protection work? The survey of local herders' willingness to protect has given us some inspiration.

The herders in Subei are more willing to protect jackals than herders in Yumen because they receive various government subsidies, such as grassland subsidies and livestock insurance. So we can first solve or help them alleviate the problem of jackals eating sheep, and then try to apply for some corresponding subsidies to alleviate the current acute problem of human-animal conflict.

We have also carried out some joint patrol activities in the local area, which have achieved certain results. At least the local herdsmen now know that there are wildlife conservation workers like us who are engaged in the investigation and protection of northern jackals in this area. I hope that the story of the northern jackal can continue in the Qilian Mountains .