The golden jackal (Canis aureus), also known as the common jackal, Asiatic jackal, or gold-wolf is a Canid indigenous to north and northeastern Africa, southeastern and central Europe (up to Austria and Hungary), Asia Minor, the Middle East and southeast Asia. It is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern, due to its widespread range in areas with optimum food and shelter. Despite its name, the golden jackal is not closely related to other jackal species, with morphological and molecular studies indicating a greater affinity to the grey wolf and coyote. It is a social species, whose basic social unit consists of a breeding pair, followed by its offspring. The golden jackal is highly adaptable, being able to exploit many foodstuffs, from fruit and insects to small ungulates.
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Famous quotes containing the word golden:
“The golden mean in ethics, as in physics, is the centre of the system and that about which all revolve, and though to a distant and plodding planet it be an uttermost extreme, yet one day, when that planet’s year is completed, it will be found to be central.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)