Habitat use by the golden jackal (Canis aureus) in agrosystems of southern Greece

Five golden jackals (Canis aureus) were radiotracked in the locations of Mornos – Fokida and eastern Samos island in southern Greece for periods ranging between 2 – 15 months. The home ranges for the animals that were tracked for a year ranged from 2.2 to 15 km2. The jackals occupied lowland agrosystems with scattered small human settlements consisting of a mosaic of small cultivations and dense vegetation. The jackals used the dense vegetation for daytime cover and their activity was exclusively nocturnal. Daytime cover areas were recorded even next to human settlements. The jackals emerged from the dense cover usually 1 hour after sunset and used open meadows and cultivated areas for foraging. Major barriers for the dispersal and repopulation of new areas from the species seem to be the mountainous areas with large unbroken forests and low levels of human activity.