Range expansion in the Golden Jackal, Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758 (Canidae: Carnivora), into the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

The Golden Jackal, Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758 is widely distributed in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Its range has considerably expanded in Europe over the past few decades. In the Middle East, the species occurs in Levant, including Israel and Palestine, just across the eastern border of Egypt. The first documented occurrence of the species in Egypt was in 2009 from a small area in extreme northeastern Sinai Peninsula, suggesting a very limited distribution within that part of the country. In this paper I report a recent range expansion of the Golden Jackal into large areas in eastern and southern Sinai Peninsula, including well-studied and monitored National Parks where this jackal has never been previously recorded, but is now quite common. I describe the new habitats now colonized by this jackal and discuss its ecological relations.