Analysis of their scat indicates that 31.4 per cent of their diet consists of mammals, while 26.7 per cent is made up of plant matter. Additionally, the diet includes 14.3 per cent birds, 8.6 per cent crabs and 8.6 per cent reptiles, with 4.8 per cent being fish

Alarmingly, the analysis also found that 5.7 per cent of the scat contained plastic materials

Wildlife Researcher Nikit Surve from Wildlife Conservation Society India said that the research has provided valuable information about golden jackals’ distribution, diet, and interaction patterns with humans and domestic dogs. It has also documented other mammalian species found in this habitat

“The activity pattern shown by golden jackals in the study site was primarily nocturnal, with peaks during dawn and dusk, inversely proportional to human activity. Golden jackals showed temporal overlap with free-ranging dogs, highest in the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary and lowest in West Mumbai,” said Nikit Surve

Between December 2022 and July 2023, the Wildlife Conservation Society – India, in partnership with the Mangrove Foundation, conducted a baseline survey on the distribution of golden jackals in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)

“We collected a total of 38 scats over five months, from January 2023 to May 2023. In vegetative matter, seeds of Indian jujube (Ziziphus Mauritiana) could also be identified; along with a few different seeds. There have been a few incidents where we have come across small plastic particles in their scat,” the report states

Amongst the wild canids found in India, golden jackals are the most widespread species, occupying varied habitats ranging from forests and grasslands to agricultural landscapes. The mangrove ecosystem is one unique habitat used by golden jackals