Over 100 scientists from Romania and abroad are participating, October 7-10, in Tulcea, in a symposium on the jackal and related species, an event organised by the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development (INCDDD), within the Golden Jackal Informal Study Group in Europe (GOJAGE) international network dedicated to the study, monitoring and conservation of the golden jackal.

INCDDD Director Marian Tudor has told AGERPRES that the event, which is organised once every four, is at its fourth edition and was preceded by a course, held in Murighiol, and has the golden jackal in the foreground, given that it was found that the species has been expanding internationally.

'Research must be extended in terms of time or funding, because otherwise we will run the risk of making decisions that are insufficiently scientifically based. One of the main roles of this symposium is to bring to the same table those who deal with extraction, those who make decisions regarding extraction, those who document damage cases, those who administer and manage waste, local public authorities, plus, from my point of view, we will not be able to eradicate the jackal. It is a species that we have to learn to live with,' Tudor said.

During the symposium, successful management practices in other areas of the world are presented.

'There are scientists and administrators of protected natural areas who say that the extraction hunt would not be the most suitable for population control, because there are a multitude of causes that cause both the increase in the number of jackals and their spread. What I mean here is a poor management of waste - easily available food will attract them, just as it happens with other species of carnivores, such as the bear. (...) It is very likely that after these three days we will not have an answer, but we will be a few steps forward toward achieving that adapted management mode for the Danube Delta and then maybe an example of good practices for other protected areas in Europe and in the world, with the jackal being an expanding species in all regions,' said the INCDDD director.

According to the coordinator of the Biodiversity Department of INCDDD, Mihai Marinov, in the Danube Delta there is an estimated pack of between 1,500 and 2,500 jackals.

'Until the war (unleashed by Russia in Ukraine) ends, it will be very difficult for us to have an extraordinarily good evaluation. Now, we have a relatively good evaluation and the packs vary a lot, because in the Delta it is quite difficult. The jackals came to the Delta a long time ago, but it took about 20 years to learn to live there. Only recently, the number of jackals began to increase, when we started to have a lot of cattle that are not guarded. Moreover, we started to farm in ponds, and these ponds become a habitat for the jackal, because the jackal in agricultural areas eats mice. We have damages in households, but most of them are not real,' said the INCDDD representative.

Experts argue that the population facing damage in private households due to the bugs must be educated to protect their property.

'In other areas of the world, the population has been educated, supported to take some measures at home to protect their species from the snow leopard, for example. People have been taught to build shelters, to close, to put nets. I'm not saying that this would be the way we should approach the situation, but only that we should be prepared to adapt, and we, being superior and intelligent beings, could adapt more easily than the animal,' Tudor concluded.

For several years, local communities in the Danube Delta and in the nearby localities have complained about the increase in the number of jackals and have blamed numerous damage on these wild animals, and the Administration of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, with the approval of the Romanian Academy, has allowed the extraction of jackals, with the hunting actions being organised by the County Association of Hunters and Sport Fishermen.

Annually, about 350 specimens could be extracted from the reserve, with 2026 being the first year in which the number of specimens allowed to be captured increased.

The activity has been criticised by ecologists, given that the species has been present in the county for several years and is not a danger to humans. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Luisiana Bigea; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)