Mammal Populations Research Articles

Landscape and farm environmental structure determinants of small mammal assemblages in agroecosystems of central Argentina

Abstract Natural processes and patterns are altered by human activity at different spatial and temporal scales, affecting species assemblages and population traits, modifying mechanisms or regulating dynamics at different scales. However, little is known about the influence of landscape structure on small mammal assemblages and populations on farms. Thus, in this work, we aimed to study the effect of landscape and environmental characteristics at the farm scale on the assemblage and populations of native and introduced small mammals in pig and dairy farms located in Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Our results showed that farms in contexts of higher environmental diversity at the landscape scale have higher species richness. Our results also showed that variations in assemblage composition were associated with the quantity of water body surfaces, cattle food, small mammal refugia, and impervious surfaces at the farm scale—and with woodland, grassland, and natural vegetation cover at the landscape scale. The abundance of commensal murids was higher on farms near towns, with higher vegetation cover at the farm scale and/or in landscape contexts with fewer crops. The abundance of Akodon azarae was higher on farms with a lower amount of cattle food at the farm scale and crop patches in the landscape. The abundance of Didelphis albiventris was higher during spring on farms with a low proportion of bare ground, while that of Lutreolina crassicaudata was higher on farms with high vegetation cover and a lower number of water body surfaces. These results show the relevance of multiscale determinants in the development of ecologically based management strategies to control pest small mammals.

Trait‐based mechanistic approach highlights global patterns and losses of herbivore biomass functional diversity

Abstract Mammalian herbivores play a pivotal role in Earth System processes by affecting biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem functioning, potentially leading to significant repercussions on atmosphere–biosphere feedbacks. Global dynamic models of mammalian populations can improve our understanding of their ecological role at large scales and the consequences of their extinctions. However, such models are still lacking and mammals are poorly integrated in Earth System Science. We developed a mechanistic global model of terrestrial herbivore populations simulated with 37 functional groups defined through the analysis of eco‐physiological traits across all extant herbivores (2599 species). We coupled this model with a global vegetation model to predict herbivores' maximum potential biomass in pre‐industrial and at present‐day and to study the environmental drivers explaining the distribution of herbivore biomass. Present‐day biomass was estimated by accounting for anthropogenic activity causing habitat and range losses. We show that natural ecosystems could have sustained a potential wild herbivore wet biomass of 330 Mt (95% CI: 245–417), comprised of 193 Mt (95% CI: 177–208) by large species (body mass >1–10 kg, depending on functional group) and 138 Mt (95% CI: 68–209) by small species. We estimate that the remaining present‐day large herbivores biomass is 82 Mt (95% CI: 32–133), reduced by 57% due to anthropogenic activity; consequently, small herbivores currently dominate global herbivore biomass with 98 Mt (95% CI: 91–106, −29%). Losses vary greatly across climatic zones and functional groups, suggesting that size is not the only discriminant feature of biomass decline. Actual evapotranspiration is the most important driver of total, large and small herbivore biomass and explains 64%, 59% and 49% of its variation, respectively. Distribution of modelled and observed large herbivores' biomass suggested a high dependency on energy and water with more biomass in hot and wet areas. These results challenge the notion that large herbivore biomass peaks primarily in ecosystems with intermediate precipitation levels such as savannas. Outside Africa and the Tropics, pre‐industrial biomass hotspots occur in areas today dominated by humans; this could undermine the recovery of larger species biomass in certain areas. Our herbivore biomass estimates provide a quantitative benchmark for setting conservation and rewilding goals at large spatial scales. The herbivore model and functional classification create new opportunities to integrate mammals into Earth System Science and models. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Epizootological situation and epidemiological risks for natural focal infections in the territory of new subjects of the Russian Federation (Donetsk People's Republic, Lugansk People's Republic, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions)

An epizootological inspection of the liberated territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions was carried out. It was established that the faunal complex of small mammals, hare-like and ectoparasites, as well as their number, make it possible to ensure the circulation of natural focal infections identified by the results of laboratory studies: tularemia, Crimean hemorrhagic fever (CHF), West Nile fever (WNF), ixodic tick-borne borreliosis (ITB), rickettsiosis, human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), leptospirosis, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), Q fever, intestinal yersiniosis, Batai, Inco, Sindbis, Tyaginya fevers. For the first time, the PCR method in field material from the Zaporozhye region (Berdyansk and Melitopol regions) detected the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, on the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics in the populations of small mammals (rodents and insectivores), the circulation of viruses Inco, Sindbis, Tyagin, Batai was established. In the territories of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, the presence of combined and conjugated natural foci of ixodic tick-borne borreliosis, rickettsiosis and human granulocytic anaplasmosis is determined. According to the results of molecular genetic analysis, it was shown that the causative agents of natural focal infections (Crimean hemorrhagic fever, West Nile fever, ixodic tick-borne borreliosis, rickettsiosis) identified in 2023 are genetically close to strains circulating in the regions of the south European part of Russia.

Identifying drivers of demographic rates in an at‐risk population of marine mammals using integrated population models

AbstractEffective conservation of threatened populations requires identification of the processes limiting recovery. When multiple population processes are potentially limiting, they are sometimes analyzed independently, often using different datasets. Analytically, this is suboptimal, as processes are often correlated, which can lead to biased estimates of parameters and quantities of interest. Integrated population models (IPMs) can synthesize several data streams in the same probabilistic framework to circumvent these issues. Lack of prey was identified as one of the primary threats to recovery of critically endangered southern resident killer whales (SRKWs), Orcinus orca. Previous studies have correlated SRKW demographic rates with indices of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha abundance, but these approaches have modeled reproduction and survival independently. We developed an IPM for SRKWs that models both processes simultaneously, as a function of Chinook salmon abundance along the west coast of North America. We used this model to evaluate the relationship between Chinook salmon abundance and demographic rates of SRKWs, with the goal of updating our understanding of a potential causal relationship between prey availability and SRKW population dynamics, and how these relationships may have changed over time. Results suggest that SRKW mortality rates are more strongly associated with Chinook salmon abundance than birth rates. Our analysis also suggests northern resident killer whale abundance could also be affecting SRKW carrying capacity, possibly through competition over shared prey resources. The IPM fit observed total abundance data well and predicted temporal changes in population demographics with reasonable accuracy, but small sample size may have opacified model selection. Our approach offers a valuable tool for predicting the response of the SRKW population to alternative management strategies involving the recovery of Chinook salmon stocks in the eastern Pacific.

Individual behaviour, growth, survival and vulnerability to hunting in a large mammal.

Humans have exploited wild animals for thousands of years. Recent studies indicate that harvest-induced selection on life-history and morphological traits may lead to ecological and evolutionary changes. Less attention has been given to harvest-induced selection on behavioural traits, especially in terrestrial systems. We assessed in a wild population of large terrestrial mammals whether decades of hunting led to harvest-induced selection on trappability, a proxy of risk-taking behaviour. We investigated links between trappability, horn growth and survival across individuals in early life and quantified the correlations between early-life trappability and horn growth with availability to hunters and probability of being shot. We found positive among-individual correlations between early-life trappability and horn growth, early-life trappability and survival and early-life horn growth and survival. Faster growing individuals were more likely to be available to hunters and shot at a young age. We found no correlations between early-life trappability and availability to hunters or probability of being shot. Our results show that correlations between behaviour and growth can occur in wild terrestrial population but may be context dependent. This result highlights the difficulty in formulating general predictions about harvest-induced selection on behaviour, which can be affected by species ecology, harvesting regulations and harvesting methods used. Future studies should investigate mechanisms linking physiological, behavioural and morphological traits and how this effects harvest vulnerability to evaluate the potential for harvest to drive selection on behaviour in wild animal populations.

Unravelling the dynamics: Large mammal occupancy modelling in a West African tropical forest

AbstractThis study investigates the response of large mammal populations to human‐induced modifications in the Omo‐Shasha‐Oluwa Forest Reserves landscape. The impact of habitat alterations on species diversity and distribution remains poorly understood in this region. Over four seasons from May 2017 to April 2019, 52 sites were surveyed, revealing the presence of 12 large mammal species across six families. Maxwell's duiker exhibited the highest overall occupancy (0.897 ± 0.062), while the Forest elephant had the lowest (0.115 ± 0.043). Forest buffalo experienced the greatest increase in site occupancy (0.290 ± 0.076 to 0.358 ± 0.098), whereas the Mona monkey saw the most significant decrease (0.713 to 0.651). The study employed single‐species, multi‐season occupancy modelling, predicting colonisation and extinction events solely for the civet (ϒ = 0.347 ± 0.154; ε = 0.041 ± 0.031) and Red river hog (ϒ = 0.158 ± 0.098; ε = 0.098 ± 0.059). The likelihood of Civet cat and Red river hog colonisation increased with distance from the nearest settlement. These findings enhance our understanding of habitat characteristics influencing large mammal distribution, offering valuable insights for the conservation of these species in forest landscapes.

An inbreeding perspective on the effectiveness of wildlife population defragmentation measures – a case study on wild boar (Sus scrofa) of Veluwe, The Netherlands

Pervasive inbreeding is a major genetic threat of population fragmentation and can undermine the efficacy of population connectivity measures. Nevertheless, few studies have evaluated whether wildlife crossings can alleviate the frequency and length of genomic autozygous segments. Here, we provided a genomic inbreeding perspective on the potential effectiveness of mammal population defragmentation measures. We applied a SNP-genotyping case study on the ~2500 wild boar Sus scrofa population of Veluwe, The Netherlands, a 1000-km2 Natura 2000 protected area with many fences and roads but also, increasingly, fence openings and wildlife crossings. We combined a 20K genotyping assessment of genetic status and migration rate with a simulation that examined the potential for alleviation of isolation and inbreeding. We found that Veluwe wild boar subpopulations are significantly differentiated (FST-values of 0.02-0.13) and have low levels of gene flow. One noteworthy exception was the Central and Southeastern subpopulation, which were nearly panmictic and appeared to be effectively connected through a highway wildlife overpass. Estimated effective population sizes were at least 85 for the meta-population and ranged from 31 to 52 for the subpopulations. All subpopulations, including the two connected subpopulations, experienced substantial inbreeding, as evidenced through the occurrence of many long homozygous segments. Simulation output indicated that whereas one or few migrants per generation could undo genetic differentiation and boost effective population sizes rapidly, genomic inbreeding was only marginally reduced. The implication is that ostensibly successful connectivity restoration projects may fail to alleviate genomic inbreeding of fragmented mammal populations. We put forward that defragmentation projects should allow for (i) monitoring of levels of differentiation, migration and genomic inbreeding, (ii) anticipation of the inbreeding status of the meta-population, and, if inbreeding levels are high and/or haplotypes have become fixed, (iii) consideration of enhancing migration and gene flow among meta-populations, possibly through translocation.

Ups and downs: An insight on the stranding pattern of Guiana dolphins, Sotalia guianensis, in the Amazon Estuary, Northern Brazil

Abstract Long‐term systematic records of cetacean strandings are valuable indicators of temporal responses of specific cetacean populations and communities to natural or anthropogenic pressures. They also help guide management objectives and conservation actions. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were used to analyse 10 years of systematic and opportunistic surveys of Guiana dolphin strandings in the Amazon Estuary region, Northern Brazil. The spatial distribution of strandings was assessed through kernel density maps, and age‐at‐death structure of this population was described. The model results revealed marked seasonality in the strandings and, by extension, the mortality of Guiana dolphins in the Amazon Estuary. This seasonality varied between the inner estuarine regions and Atlantic coastal area, reflecting the environment's characteristics. Long‐term decline of strandings in the Amazon Estuary inner region and unusual high mortality of young sexually mature individuals were detected. These results, besides the high stranding rate detected for the species, are mostly attributed to the species' interaction with intense fishing activity in the region. Conservation efforts should consider the seasonality of Guiana dolphin strandings in the Amazon Estuary. The systematic monitoring of strandings, especially in high‐frequency areas, is recommended for assessing long‐term species mortality. Additionally, implementing management actions related to the species' interaction with fishing activities, such as regulatory enhancements, gillnet modifications and seasonal no‐fishing zones, is advised. Educational campaigns targeting fishermen and riverine communities are essential to reduce bycatch and the folkloric use of the species. This study underscores the effectiveness of stranding data as a source of biological and ecological information, and as a tool for understanding human actions affecting coastal populations of aquatic mammals. It emphasizes the need for urgent studies to characterize this population, clarify the influence of bycatch as an anthropogenic pressure and implement effective conservation actions to preserve the Guiana dolphin population.

Identifying indicators of polar bear population status

Monitoring trends in large mammal populations is a fundamental component of wildlife management and conservation. However, direct estimates of population size and vital rates of large mammals can be logistically challenging and expensive. Indicators that reflect trends in abundance, therefore, can be valuable tools for supporting population monitoring. Polar bears have a relatively simple life history such that a few key variables may be effective indicators for tracking changes in body condition and recruitment that affect abundance. Direct estimates of polar bear abundance are difficult to obtain due to their large home ranges in remote Arctic habitats. Changes in abundance associated with environmental conditions appear to affect polar bears largely via effects on female body condition which influence reproduction and cub survival (i.e., recruitment). Loss of sea ice habitat is further limiting researcher access for population monitoring creating a need for alternative approaches. Here we used relationships established from eight years (2008–2017) of data collected on 439 polar bears in the Chukchi Sea, to transform previously published individual-based relationships with annually available sea ice, atmospheric circulation, and prey body condition variables to predict annual mean body condition and recruitment during 2018–2022. Although annual sample sizes were limited for verifying predicted body condition and recruitment via techniques such as cross-validation, in most cases predicted annual means were closely correlated with observed means for 2008–2017. Summer sea ice and prey body condition remained within or increased relative to levels observed during 2008–2017 and predicted polar bear body condition and recruitment during 2018–2022 were largely within or above observed annual means during 2008–2017. A lack of trend in environmental and ecological variables or polar bear body condition and recruitment metrics during 2008–2022 is suggestive that the Chukchi Sea polar bear population was likely stable during this time. Our results provide support for developing models that predict important population parameters of large mammals based on environmental and ecological indicators. Given that trend information is lacking for 10 of the 19 recognized polar bear populations and is outdated for others, the use of environmental and ecological indicators may be particularly useful for augmenting direct estimates of polar bear vital rates in between periods of data collection. Although demographic assessments for polar bears have primarily focused on correlations with sea ice availability, our study and others highlight that prey health is also an important indicator of polar bear population status.

Rabies

Rabies is a lethal zoonotic disease responsible for the deaths of 60,000 people annually. Rabies virus (RABV) is a lyssavirus prototype with a mortality rate of nearly 100% after symptom onset. Following an incubation period of 1-3 months after exposure, hosts develop encephalitis leading to two possible symptomatologies. A clinical presentation of RABV is encephalitic rabies, characterised by hydrophobia, agitation, and hypersalivation. Alternatively, RABV may also present as paralytic rabies, characterised by muscle weakness and paralysis. Both types eventually result in a comatose state followed by death. Despite mass vaccination campaigns in developing nations aiming to reduce infection across mammalian populations, the virus continues to gain prevalence in novel species and geographic areas, proving to be a threat of increasing magnitude.

Choclo virus (CHOV) recovered from deep metatranscriptomics of archived frozen tissues in natural history biorepositories.

Hantaviruses are negative-stranded RNA viruses that can sometimes cause severe disease in humans; however, they are maintained in mammalian host populations without causing harm. In Panama, sigmodontine rodents serve as hosts to transmissible hantaviruses. Due to natural and anthropogenic forces, these rodent populations are having increased contact with humans. We extracted RNA and performed Illumina deep metatranscriptomic sequencing on Orthohantavirus seropositive museum tissues from rodents. We acquired sequence reads mapping to Choclo virus (CHOV, Orthohantavirus chocloense) from heart and kidney tissue of a two-decade old frozen museum sample from a Costa Rican pygmy rice rat (Oligoryzomys costaricensis) collected in Panama. Reads mapped to the CHOV reference were assembled and then validated by visualization of the mapped reads against the assembly. We recovered a 91% complete consensus sequence from a reference-guided assembly to CHOV with an average of 16X coverage. The S and M segments used in our phylogenetic analyses were nearly complete (98% and 99%, respectively). There were 1,199 ambiguous base calls of which 93% were present in the L segment. Our assembled genome varied 1.1% from the CHOV reference sequence resulting in eight nonsynonymous mutations. Further analysis of all publicly available partial S segment sequences support a clear relationship between CHOV clinical cases and O. costaricensis acquired strains. Viruses occurring at extremely low abundances can be recovered from deep metatranscriptomics of archival tissues housed in research natural history museum biorepositories. Our efforts resulted in the second CHOV genome publicly available. This genomic data is important for future surveillance and diagnostic tools as well as understanding the evolution and pathogenicity of CHOV.

Impact of fishery observer protocol on estimated bycatch rates of marine mammals

Abstract Managing fishing operations’ threat to marine mammal populations hinges on accurate bycatch estimates, often derived from fishery observer or monitoring programmes. Much global marine mammal bycatch occurs in gillnets, and observer protocols that do not include watching the haulback of gillnets may miss animals that drop out of the net. We investigated whether trips using a fish-focused observer protocol (no requirement to watch the haulback) in US northwestern Atlantic gillnet fisheries from 1994 to 2019 had different observed bycatch rates from trips under a mammal-focused observer protocol (watching the haulbacks) for grey seals (Halichoerus grypus atlantica), harbour seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina), and harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena phocoena). We found that observer protocol was likely to affect observed drop-out and bycatch rates. Under the fish-focused protocol, the ratio of animals removed from the net to those that fell from the net was generally higher than under the mammal-focused protocol, suggesting fish-focused observers missed bycatch that fell. Bycatch rates of animals removed from the net by fishers differed significantly between observer protocols for seals, but not for harbour porpoise, perhaps because of differences in entanglement and manner of decomposition. We estimate bycatch was underreported by 3–25% because of unobserved drop-outs on fish-focused observer protocols.

Habitat configuration influences mammal populations at a wider spatial extent than habitat composition: a meta-analysis of forest mammal datasets

ContextThe spatial extent at which landscape variables most strongly influences wildlife populations (i.e., scale of effect) is of key importance to ecology and conservation. Many factors can influence scales of effect, but these relationships are poorly understood. In particular, the way scales of effect vary with different landscape metrics has not been extensively tested.ObjectivesOur study tested whether metrics of landscape configuration have wider or narrower scales of effect than habitat composition. We also examined how species traits and landscape context influence the magnitude of differences in scales of effect between metrics.MethodsWe calculated scales of effect for four metrics of habitat configuration and one metric of composition directly from species presence/absence data in online repositories including 102 species of forest mammals from 33 studies across the globe. We then compared the magnitudes and variability of scales of effect using Hedge’s g.ResultsTwo metrics of configuration (flux and patch density) had significantly wider scales of effect than habitat composition, while the differences between the other two metrics of configuration and composition were not statistically significant. The magnitude of the difference between metrics varied among samples, but none of the factors tested explained this variability.ConclusionsFor forest mammals, the scale of effect of a configuration metric can be expected to be 15–20% wider than a composition metric. However, this pattern may not hold for metrics of configuration that do not quantify attributes of the landscape that mediate species dispersal or that are correlated with the metric of composition.

Population dynamics analysis of small mammal species in anthropogenic pollution zones of Southern Aral Region

The paper presents the results of the research on the analysis of the population dynamics of the background species of small mammals in the zones of technogenic pollution of the Southern Priaralie. It is established that the reaction of small mammal communities to desertification depends on their specificity, which in turn is determined by the ecological specificity of species. The study of the state of mammal populations in desertified ecosystems, as well as the study of their adaptation to changing environmental conditions is of great theoretical and practical importance.

The intact and the imperilled: contrasting mammal population trajectories between two large adjacent islands

The intact and the imperilled: contrasting mammal population trajectories between two large adjacent islands

Alternative stable states and disease induced extinction

In this research, we study a generalization of the SIR epidemic model to observe diseaseinduced extinction in the presence of alternative stable states. We model per capita reproduction and mortality rates as functions of both population density and external indicators reflecting temporal resource variations that impact stable states. We then obtain conditions to guarantee a unique global solution for the SIR model when the rate functions are discontinuous. We further obtain conditions for the stability of two states when the external indicators are assumed to be constant. We use both deterministic and stochastic epidemic simulations to analyze models with alternative stable states for real mammalian populations. Through numerical examples, we show that changes in external indicators can, in fact, lead to the collapse of a population subject to an epidemic. However, we find a high probability of species survival in the presence of environmental stochasticity, even when the corresponding deterministic models predict extinction of the host population.

Sifting through the COVID-19 Pandemic

There are approximately 6,400 species of mammals on our planet. Bats represent 20% of the mammalian population. There are 1,000 different types of bats, and they are the only mammals that can fly, which explains their great range of movement. Fruit bats harbor a large number of viruses. In the history of their development, fruit bats have probably been the entry point for viruses into the mammalian lineage.

Bycatch Estimates of Dugongs and Dolphins: Results from an Interview Survey of Fishermen in Brunei Bay, Malaysia

Bycatch refers to the unintentional capture of non-targeted animals during fishing activities. Worldwide, bycatch poses a significant threat to marine mammal species. In the Southeast Asian region, information on bycatch is particularly scarce, and there is little indication that the issue is adequately addressed anywhere in the region. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted face-to-face interview surveys across fishing communities in the Malaysian side of the Brunei Bay. We collected two datasets of marine mammal bycatch incidences from two different groups of fishermen (N=90 of 356 reported dugong data, 0.3%, and N=62 of 146 reported dolphin data, 0.4%), to estimate the levels of mortalities of the marine mammals. More than four fifths (82.1%) of respondents reported that they have accidentally captured at least one marine mammal (25.0% dugong and 42.5% dolphin) throughout their lifetime as a fisherman, with the highest frequency of occurrence being reported by fishers using gillnets (53.5% and 38.7%, respectively). Our interview results suggest an annual bycatch of 0.22 (95% CI = 0.13 to 0.32) for dugongs and 0.65 (95% CI = 0.40 to 0.88) for dolphins in the Malaysian Brunei Bay. Findings from this study provides important data to guide fisheries resource managers in providing protection and conservation efforts the endangered marine mammal populations.

Antimicrobial resistance including extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBL) and carbapenemase in feacal <em>E. coli</em> isolates from bats

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the major causes of rising human mortality in hospitals. Although mitigation of AMR is challenging, one health approach has shown success. Bats, a key component in the ecosystem, contribute to about 20% of the world’s entire mammalian population with > 1200 species. Bats found both in rural and urban environments coexisting with the human population play a significant role in agriculture. Although AMR with significant importance has been reported in bats in some countries, a dearth of literature including dissemination of phenotypic antimicrobial resistance in bats Sri Lanka. Therefore, this study was undertaken to analyse the phenotypic antimicrobial resistance of E. coli isolated from bats in the Kandy suburbs in Sri Lanka in June – December 2022 when the worst economic crisis prevailed in the country. The fresh faecal samples were collected from three identified sites in Kandy suburbs. Faecal samples were cultured in MacConkey agar, sub-cultured in blood agar and the identification of E. coli was carried out by conventional methods. A total of 251 E. coli isolates were screened for antimicrobial susceptibility testing by the disk diffusion test. Cefotaxime and meropenem disks were used to determine ESBL and carbapenem resistance respectively. Resistance to carbapenem was observed in E. coli at 8.9%, 7.5% and 7.3% and to extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBL) at 26.9%, 38.9% and 39.8% in the three sites where samples were collected. Over 50% of frequency was observed for trimethoprim, ampicillin and sulfa trimethoprim combination. The CTX-M was found and NDM-1 was not found by PCR similar to the finding reported previously. Surveillance of AMR in multiple sectors for baseline information on each species in the ecosystem is vital for the interpretation of resistant frequencies. However, the role of bats in the dissemination of AMR determinants needs to be further investigated.

Шакал (Canis aure¬us) на півночі Полісся України: виявлення у природі, статус та повільне розселення

The golden jackal continues to slowly inhabit the north of Central Polissia and to disperse. Mostly single individuals are found. The social structure of the jackal is flexible and groups of more than two individuals are found in places of food concentration. A similar situation occurred in the Ubort River valley near the Ukrainian–Belarusian border, when visual encounters of jackal family consisting of probably 3–4 animals were very frequent near the burial place of livestock corpses. In the north of Central Polissia of Ukraine, the jackal has been recorded since 2014. The species is rare here. According to the registration of tracks, this predator is found on a less forested forest ridge between the settlements of Ovruch–Velidnyky–Slovechno–Levkovychi and in the valley of the Ubort River, which is a natural corridor of the species’ northward dispersal. Given Ukraine’s course towards EU membership and the position of the Baltic countries on the jackal, our country will obviously have to take into account the special status of the jackal as a species that has expanded its range on its own. Accordingly, this predator should not be considered an invasive species. Obviously, the problem with the jackal in forested regions of north of Ukraine will be much less severe than in the south in the floodplains of large rivers. In the Polissia, in trophically rich broadleaf forests with mosaic forest cover, the jackal is likely to coexist successfully with the wolf. Interspecific relations between wolves and jackals do not take the form of direct pursuit, but rather by marking territory. It has been found that jackals respond to chemical and visual markings of wolves during dispersal and try to quickly leave areas with high wolf population density. Unlike solitary wolves in the wild, solitary jackals are able to forage for food much more efficiently and therefore have a higher chance of survival in the wild. The preconceived notion of the jackal as a problematic species may not allow for an unbiased assessment of its impact on ecosystems. In its relations with humans, the jackal in the Polissia is a less problematic species compared to wolves, foxes, or American minks. It is necessary to inform the Ukrainian public, authorities and politicians about existing international legal instruments and European experience in managing populations of carnivorous mammals, including the golden jackal.