Abstract
Trophic ecology of the Golden Jackal in Djurdjura National Park (Kabylie, Algeria). ― since the rediscovery of the african Wolf, a certain level of uncertainty surrounds the ecological status of the golden jackal in northern africa. We characterized the trophic spectrum of the ‘golden jackal’ phenotype (distinct from the ‘african Wolf’ phenotype) and its possible seasonal variations in relation with availability of resources (waste included) in the djurdjura national park (dnp), northern algeria. the analy-sis of 360 faeces collected over one year shows that 91 % of the items consumed by the golden jackal belong to five categories: mammals (27 %), non-energetic plants (20 %), energetic plants (19 %), arthropods (16 %) and waste (10 %). Our results confirm that the Golden Jackal is a generalist and opportunistic predator, with mammals representing the principal energy source. the golden jackal in pnd shows an original predilection for the mammalian preys of medium size (Wild boar –– the main contributor in terms of biomass ––barbary Macaque and sheep). this illustrates its potential for maximizing net energy gain (hunting cost vs. biomass supply) thanks to its capacity to reach larger preys. the high indices of trophic diversity observed throughout the year suggest dietary habits following levels of resource availability rather than strict seasonal “specializa-tions”. the existence of peaks of consumption of Wild boars and barbary Macaques outside ‘critical’ seasons (spring and winter) together with the weak probability to feed on carcasses (absence of local hunting activi-ties) support the hypothesis of an active hunting of these preys by the golden jackal. however, this would imply a behaviour of co-operative hunting seldom observed in Maghreb. the high representation of plants in the trophic spectrum of the Golden Jackal confirms that the diet of the Carnivores from the Mediterranean areas generally includes more vegetable material than in northern latitudes. Waste (as well as livestock and poultry) is a weak contributor to the diet of the golden jackal. this is potentially linked to the quality of the habitat and to the important availability of food items in the DNP.