Seasonal Differences in Howling Response of Golden Jackals Canis aureus L., 1758 (Mammalia: Canidae) in Eastern Bulgaria

The howling in golden jackals has a complex structure and is mostly used for territorial interactions. Due to the recent expansion of the golden jackal in Europe and the well-known fact that jackals respond to a playback howl, the bioacoustic stimulation has become an important method for data collection related to the jackal population density. This article describes changes in golden jackal response to a pre-recorded howl on a monthly basis throughout a monitoring period of one year. The study area was set in Eastern Bulgaria, in regions with already known high jackal population density. Data were collected from two transects located in different areas (Northeast and Southeast Bulgaria). The highest number of answers to the broadcasted howls was detected during June and July in Southeast Bulgaria and during July and August in Northeast Bulgaria. During these peaks, group-answers were registered mainly and the single individual-answers were very few or lacking. Based on jackal’s ecology and biology, the results suggest that the howling response corresponds more to interactions between territorial groups rather than to com- munication signals during the breading season.