Modern Distribution and Morphology of the Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) in Ukraine

Abstract

In 2010–2016, the golden jackal in Ukraine has continued to occupy coastal habitats of the Sea of Azov and Black Sea and some animals penetrated far to the north until the border of Belarus and Russia. Now its range in the country is represented by four core areas which jackals permanently inhabit. They are 1) inland areas of Odesa and Mykolaiv Regions, and also deltas of the Danube and Dniester; 2) territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, adjacent to Lake Syvash; 3) Biriuchyi Peninsula in Henichesk District of Kherson Region; 4) Dnieper islands to the south of Zaporizhzhia. The formation of jackal micropopulations in Ukraine was participated by animals from Southern Europe and Caucasus that is confirmed by mtDNA analysis.