[5] The European subspecies, consistent with Bergmann's rule, is the largest of the golden jackals, with animals of both sexes measuring 120–125 cm (47–49 in) in total length and 10–13 kg (20–29 lb) in body weight.

[13] In the Caucasus, jackals mainly hunt hares, small rodents, pheasants, partridges, ducks, coots, moorhens and passerines.

[4] Golden jackals tend not to be as damaging to livestock as wolves and red foxes are, though they can become a serious nuisance to small sized stock when in high numbers.

However, they rarely eat garbage, due to large numbers of stray dogs preventing them access to places with high human density.

[15] In Dalmatia, mammals (the majority being even-toed ungulates and lagomorphs) made up 50.3% of the golden jackal's diet, fruit seeds (14% each being common fig and common grape vine, while 4.6% are Juniperus oxycedrus) and vegetables 34.1%, insects (16% orthopteras, 12% beetles, and 3% dictyopteras) 29.5%, birds and their eggs 24.8%, artificial food 24%, and branches, leaves, and grass 24%.

[16] Information on the diet of jackals in northeastern Italy is scant, but it is certain that they prey on small roe deer and hares.

[12] The jackal's current European range mostly encompasses the Balkan region, where the population had been reduced in many areas by the 1960s, with core populations occurring in scattered regions such as Strandja, the Dalmatian Coast, while it was still very numerous and widespread at the lowlands of mainland Greece and some Greek Islands, in the beginning of the decade.

Subsequently, from the 1980s onward, expanded its range westward into Serbia, Slovenia, Austria and Italy, and as far North as Northwestern Romania,[17] Hungary and Slovakia.

[19][20] In Turkey, Romania, the North Black Sea coast, and the Caucasus region, the status of jackals was largely unknown in 2004.

There were indications of expanding populations in Romania and the north-western Black Sea coast, and reports of decline in Turkey.

[21] Jackal populations in Albania however are on the verge of extinction with possible occurrence in only three lowland wetland locations along the Adriatic Sea.

However, at the beginning of this century, their significant presence in the north of the country is an obvious example of expansion of the jackals on the European continent.

[21] In Croatia, a 2007 survey reported 19 jackal packs in the north-western part of Ravni Kotari and two on Vir Island.

[33] In 2005, a probably vagrant female was accidentally shot near Gornji Grad in the Upper Savinja Valley, Northern Slovenia.

They are not thought to have been historically present in Germany before, according to experts warm winter weather may be contributing to their expansion into new territory.

[40] A dead adult was found close to the road near Podolí (Uherské Hradiště District) in the Czech Republic, on 19 March 2006.

[41] The species' presence in Poland was confirmed in 2015 through a necropsy on a roadkilled male found in the northwest and camera trapping of two live specimens in the east.

[44] A young dead female was discovered on 10 December 2009 in Carnia, indicating that the species' range has continued to expand.

[45] The golden jackal populations in Italy are concentrated in the northeastern portion of the country, but animals have been spotted sporadically south of the River Po.

[53] However, studies confirmed that animals reached Estonia naturally from Caucasus through Ukraine, which some people take to mean they should not be considered introduced species.

During 2018–2022, golden jackals were recorded in total of six localities ranging from southern, central and northern regions of the country.

Ιn similes in the Iliad (dated around 8th century BC) they are described as tawny coloured, gathering together to stalk animals injured by hunters.

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in 4th century BC wrote that jackals avoid lions and dogs, but they are friendly to people, not being afraid of them.

[61] However, the fossil record indicates that the golden jackal likely colonised the European continent from Asia during the Upper Holocene[8] or late Pleistocene.

It was found that jackals in Estonia originate from the south-eastern European population, whereas those in Lithuania are of Caucasian origin; this was concluded to render the hypothesis of an artificial introduction unlikely, and that their presence in both states was consistent with the natural northward expansion of both southeastern and eastern European populations.

[62] Surveys taken in the High Adriatic hinterland indicate that the totality of people with first hand experience of jackals (hunters, game keepers and local people) regularly mistook red foxes affected by sarcoptic mange (or in a problematic state of moult) for golden jackals.

[43] Another difficulty for trackers is that, unlike a wolf, which defecates in the middle of trails, golden jackals leave their scat under cover of bushes.