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Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan

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... Among these, the Canidae family is represented by three genera: Vulpes, Canis and Lycaon (Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalski 1991). The genus Vulpes comprises mesocarnivores that are characterized by ecological diversity and high mobility (Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004). In North Africa, four species characterized by partially overlapping ranges and distinct ecological roles are encountered: the pale fox (Vulpes pallida), Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii Schinz, 1825), red fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758) and fennec fox (Vulpes zerda Zimmermann, 1780) (Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004;Leite et al. 2015;Castelló 2018). ...
... The genus Vulpes comprises mesocarnivores that are characterized by ecological diversity and high mobility (Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004). In North Africa, four species characterized by partially overlapping ranges and distinct ecological roles are encountered: the pale fox (Vulpes pallida), Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii Schinz, 1825), red fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758) and fennec fox (Vulpes zerda Zimmermann, 1780) (Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004;Leite et al. 2015;Castelló 2018). ...
... The pale fox is present in the Sahelian zone, spanning from Senegal to Sudan (Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004), yet its presence in southern Algeria was not mentioned. The scarcity of information about the pale fox in southern Algeria, particularly in the region inhabited by the Touareg people, could be attributed to potential confusion between this species and the fennec fox. ...
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The pale fox, Vulpes pallida, is a relatively elusive small carnivore sparsely distributed across the Sahel region in Africa. In this report, we document a new locality record of this species in Algeria, where its presence has remained unconfirmed for over fifty years. Using camera traps, we captured photographic evidence of the species in the extreme southern region of Algeria, specifically in the Tin Zaouatin area. A mix of camera traps were deployed at different locations in the region, operating during the night. The area's climate is classified as hot desert, with vegetation in the Tawandert Valley predominantly consisting of Sahelian plants, such as Acacia and Balanites. This record marks the first officially documented occurrence of the pale fox in Algeria and represents the northernmost boundary of the species' geographic distribution.
... In the eastern part of its range, the most recently published estimated population size across the three largest countries on the Arabian Peninsula (i.e., Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman) was 500-600 individuals, but declining; however, this was nearly twenty years ago (Sillero-Zubiri et al., 2004). Wolves appear to be common in remote and protected areas of Yemen (Khorozyan et al., 2014). ...
... Although the global status for C. lupus is least concern (Boitani et al., 2018), status reviews for the Arabian wolf over the last few decades list it as vulnerable (Boitani, 2003), endangered (Mallon and Budd, 2011), or critically endangered (Benson, 2009). This at least gives it the advantage of being stringently protected in Israel; aside from the authorised killing of almost 40 wolves to protect the critically Fig. 3. Previously estimated population sizes of the Arabian wolf throughout its range (Cohen et al., 2013;Sillero-Zubiri et al., 2004), and its location within the Middle East (inset). endangered acacia gazelle (Gazella gazella acaciae) in the mid 2000s, no legal killing of Arabian wolves is sanctioned (Cohen et al., 2013). ...
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Grey wolf (Canis lupus) populations are beginning to increase globally after centuries of decline. While protective legislations and policy implementations have been driving this increase, evidence suggests that these work because of a general rise in public acceptance of wolves. As people have become more knowledgeable of the important ecological roles played by wolves, protection has gained increasing community support, with human-wolf coexistence now being achieved in some areas. However, this is not universal, and some subspecies remain endangered. This is the case for the little-known Arabian wolf (Canis lupus arabs), which inhabits arid regions of the southern Levant and Arabian Peninsula: a geopolitically diverse region crossing multiple jurisdictions with disparate cultures, legislations, and attitudes towards wildlife and conservation. Here we review global efforts within the wolf conservation sphere to explore potential opportunities and challenges in the Middle East, acknowledging and accounting for the unique geopolitical complexity of this region. We bring together what is known about this wolf's taxonomic status, distribution, ecology, and conservation across eleven countries in which it resides, collating decades of legislation, governmental, and non-governmental conservation efforts, and summarising literature pertinent to the Arabian wolf. Cross-border collaborations remain challenging in the Middle East, but we identify practical and culturally-based solutions that may improve coexistence and conservation goals, building upon areas where coexistence already occurs. We write this review in the hope that it will highlight the synergies, opportunities, and obstacles that require more serious deliberation and collaboration to conserve one of the region's remaining apex predators.
... For example, larger social groups may result in greater population size that conceivably would reduce extinction risk (Cardinale et al. 2020;Leach et al. 2020). Among species of wild canids, group formation and size typically are related to body size relative to that of common prey species (Gittleman 1989;Moehlman 1989;Macdonald 2004). For example, large groups, some with more than 20 individuals, commonly occur among gray wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758) and African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus (Temminck, 1820)) that primarily hunt large ungulates (Moehlman 1989). ...
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Smaller canids, such as most foxes, individually hunt small prey, and therefore, social groups typically consist of just a mated pair. However, these smaller canids occasionally form groups in which the members have been presumed to be genetically or socially related. We studied social and genetic relationships among urban San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica Merriam, 1902) groups in Bakersfield, California. Of 59 groups, 42.4% had extra adults in addition to the parents. Foxes were field classified as either mothers, fathers, helpers (extra adults), or pups. We then assessed relatedness of foxes within social groups using 11 microsatellites in DNA from tissue or hair samples. Mated pairs were significantly less related than mothers and helpers, with fathers and helpers being intermediate. Twelve pairs of females were mother–daughter dyads, but we also found two cases of sisters and two cases where the females were unrelated. Pups were always related to a female identified as their mother. Father–pup pairs were less related than mother–pup pairs, with helper–pup pairs being intermediate. The extra-pair paternity rate (multiple fathers per litter) was 39%. The social flexibility exhibited by kit foxes may increase their resiliency to marked fluctuations in resource availability, thereby reducing extinction risk.
... movements and expansion (Brönmark and Miner 1992;Frommen et al. 2011;Freudiger et al. 2021). Monogamy is the primary social system of canids, although their social organization, body size, life history characteristics, habitat, and diet are different (Macdonald 1983;Bekoff et al. 1984;Moehlman 1989;Geffen et al. 1996;Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004;Macdonald et al. 2019). Body size can Fig. 5 The distribution of the geometric mean of 22 skull measurements across juvenile females, juvenile males, adult females, and adult males. ...
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Defining species within the Canidae family is challenging due to morphological convergence, behavioral plasticity, traditional taxonomic limitations, and possible hybridisation. This challenge is timely with the recent population and range expansion of the golden jackal ( Canis aureus ). Exploring their morphological data and sexual dimorphism is essential for identifying factors driving their success in new habitats. The proven hybridization of golden jackals with dogs and wolves may affect species description, population dynamics, and genetic diversity, impacting conservation strategies. This study, for the first time, conducts a morphometric analysis of golden jackals in Somogy County, Hungary, to prove sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in body and skull and sexual shape dimorphism (SShD) in skull across juvenile and adult age groups. 719 golden jackals (362 females and 357 males) were collected between January 2021 and January 2023. Descriptive statistics revealed significant SSD in body and skull measurements among both age groups, with males generally larger than females, particularly in body mass (11.72% in juveniles and 13.37% in adults). Most skull dimensions differed significantly between sexes and age groups, except for foramen magnum height, foramen magnum width, and postorbital breadth among juveniles and foramen magnum height and postorbital breadth among adults. We used principal component analyses (PCA) on raw dimension data and the log shape ratio method to extract shape information. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) explored skull SShD between sexes. Notably, our study achieved over 71% accuracy in sex classification, illustrating the clear presence of SShD of the skull in golden jackals across both age groups. Our study provides a comprehensive database of golden jackals in the overpopulated Hungarian habitat, which will be helpful for further research on ecology, behavior, and conservation management.
... One of the most important questions that remains unanswered is the nature of their interaction with prey populations [23]. Therefore, we aimed to capture a broad range of dietary variation between two geographically distinct populations from Alaska and Sweden to identify the potential for diet-related intraspecific adaptation [22,24,25]. Furthermore, we tested for functional differentiation within a tooth row, to better understand the masticatory process. ...
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Ingesta leaves distinct patterns on mammalian teeth during mastication. However, an unresolved challenge is how to include intraspecific variability into dietary reconstruction and the biomechanical aspects of chewing. Two extant populations of the grey wolf (Canis lupus), one from Alaska and one from Sweden, were analysed with consideration to intraspecific dietary variability related to prey size depending on geographical origin, sex and individual age as well as tooth function. Occlusal enamel facets of the upper fourth premolars, first molars and the second lower molar were analysed via three-dimensional surface texture analysis. The Swedish wolves displayed facets characterized by higher peaks and deeper, more voluminous dales, featuring an overall rougher surface than the wolves from Alaska. Compared to females, the Swedish male wolves had a slightly larger dale area and hill volume on their facets. Upper fourth premolars are smoother and had higher values in texture direction compared to upper first molars. The upper first molars were rougher than the occluding lower second molars and were characterized by larger and deeper dales. We find evidence supporting intraspecific dietary segregation, and antagonistic asymmetry in occlusal wear signatures. The data offer new insights into the roles of apex predators like the grey wolf.
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The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and golden jackal (Canis aureus) frequently coexist and share resources. We investigated the dietary fluctuations of the red fox and the golden jackal over a two-year period to understand their dietary overlap and trophic relationship in Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary, in the northwestern Himalayas of India. A total of 287 scat samples (red fox = 159 and golden jackal = 128) were analyzed. The scat analysis revealed 13 and 12 food items in the diet of red fox and golden jackal respectively. Domestic sheep contributed maximum in both the canid species with the relative occurrence of 12% in the diet of red fox and 8% in the diet of golden jackal. Livestock contributes maximum to the biomass of both species (red fox: 69% and golden jackal: 66%), while as the contribution of plant matter was negligible (red fox: 4% and golden jackal: 3%). The trophic niche breadth of the jackal (5.33) and red fox (6.29) suggests that both meso-carnivores are generalist feeders. The high level of dietary overlap suggests the presence of competition between the two species. However, their coexistence is facilitated by their preference for different altitudinal ranges within the study area, as well as by the plentiful availability of rodents and carrions. Findings of the present study are expected to act as baseline information on the trophic interactions and trophic overlap between the two meso-carnivores in the northwestern Himalayas, India.
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Hierarchy is a common characteristic of all social animals and is closely related to interactions within the group. From February to May 2024, behavioral sampling was used to study the behavior interactions and hierarchy structure of wolves in the free-ranging area of Harbin Northern Forest Zoo. The results indicated that the hierarchy of this group was divided into high, middle, and low levels. There were changes in the behavior and hierarchy structure of the wolves in the free-ranging area before and after the cubs were born, but these changes were not significant (r=0.02). The hierarchy of some individuals changed during different periods, with the hierarchy structure being more evident before (r=0.91) compared to after (r=0.02) the cubs were born. Low-ranking wolves received more attacks (cor=-0.3269278). Based on the results, recommendations were made to improve the management of captive wolves.
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To establish a system for DNA identification of biological samples of the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), we carried out a study of polymorphism of 39 microsatellite loci and three sex loci specific to various species of the Canidae family. This resulted in the development of the NPlex test system, which includes 14 autosomal STRs and two sex loci. The test system has been validated for use in forensic identification of racoon dogs based on biological traces (such as traces of blood and secretions, fragments of muscle tissue or bones, dermis and hair, etc.) found at crime scenes, as well as for establishing biological relationship of animals of this species. Validation efforts were performed in accordance with the protocol of the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods.
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