Haifa has already become accustomed to seeing wild boars as part of the urban landscape, but these days the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality is starting to deal with roaming jackals, whose presence near human beings has increased significantly.
Avishai Rosen, the municipality's wildlife project manager, says that jackals have always been in Tel Aviv, albeit in much lower numbers. So far they have been concentrated in the Yarkon region and they moved from east to west. "At some point it was convenient for them to settle here, because the Yarkon Park has excellent conditions; vegetation, animals, water and barbecues. But since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has not been much food available and they smelled another food source 300-400 meters away. They took the plunge and entered the nearby residential neighborhoods."
In the wild jackals eat carcasses, young birds and small rodents, which are common in residential neighborhoods. Food is abundant in garbage bins, and Rosen tells of a significant increase in the weight of Tel Aviv jackals compared to the weight of jackals in the field, with an increase of about 25 percent in their weight, due to the available food.
When asked about humans being bitten and the risk of diseases, Rosen says that rabies has not existed in Tel Aviv for about twenty years, but municipal authorities are already thinking ahead and preparing to prevent the spread of such diseases by taking positive action.
Rosen also noted that despite the obvious comparison to the situation in Haifa, dealing with jackals in Tel Aviv is completely different, also because it is an animal with a completely different character. The goal is to avoid the Haifa situation recurring in Tel Aviv, "We are making every effort not to reach this situation," he says, noting the cooperation with nearby authorities, who also do not want to experience such a problem, "even though wild boars and jackals are two completely different animals."
"A wild boar weighs seven or eight times as much as a jackal, it is a much larger animal, and there were considerations as to why not to deal with them. We are taking a different approach and working with the relevant parties, so that we do not end up with the same problem. We are in the right place, working intensively and correctly."
Regarding municipal activities, Rosen emphasizes, first and foremost, the issue of public information among the city's residents, in order to strengthen awareness to dumping of waste in bins and keeping bins closed. He adds that some consider feeding jackals an interesting hobby, but the result is the significant growth in the number of urban jackals, who sometimes run on the roads and cause accidents.
Rosen also mentioned studies being carried out with the University of Haifa. Chips have been attached to jackals, to examine their patterns of movement and lifestyle. "We do a lot to learn more about them," he says, but emphasizes the importance of keeping garbage bins closed, in a city that to date has disregarded the importance of closed bins.
