A golden jackal bitten a sheep to death in Punthorst (municipality of Staphorst) in Overijssel on December 30 last year. This is reported by BIJ12, the agency that regulates wolf matters for the provinces, among other things. As far as we know, it is the first time that DNA research has shown that there is a golden jackal in Overijssel.
The golden jackal resembles a small wolf, but has shorter legs and a pointed snout. In 2020, a golden jackal attacked livestock in the Netherlands for the first time. That happened in the Ooijpolder near Nijmegen. In 2022, a golden jackal killed sheep in three places in Friesland. In 2023, sheep were attacked twice near Lauwersoog in Groningen. The golden jackal is also said to have been sighted in Drenthe. The animals are very shy and rarely show themselves. They are not as strictly protected as the wolf.
The latest DNA figures from BIJ12 for the period from December last year to January 9 this year show that almost only wolves attacked sheep in Gelderland, Drenthe and Friesland. Occasionally an attack was the work of a dog.
In Hoogersmilde in Drenthe, a wolf grabbed a miniature horse and a goat. According to BIJ12, it is not yet known whether two attacks on ponies in Gelderland and North Brabant in December were the work of a wolf.