The Mysterious World of the Jackal
Untangling the Secrets of this Elusive Creature

Step into the strange world of the jackal as we go on a mission to discover the creature's secrets.

This article delves into the jackal's life, revealing its habitat, behavior, and unusual adaptations. Discover how these versatile canids flourish in a variety of environments, from African deserts to Asian forests.

Is a jackal a dog?

The Jackal is a canine that is related to dogs and wolves. When you look at images of jackals, the first thing you notice is how they remind you of German shepherds

The black-backed jackal has a distinct saddle of black and hair and is also known as the silver-backed jackal. 

The color is reddish brown and the saddle is a blend of black and white hairs. The tail is black-tipped and the underparts is white.

Where do jackals live?

You can expect to find jackals in the Masai Arid Zones of northeastern Africa as well as the Southwest Arid Zone of southern Africa. 

What do jackals eat? Are they carnivores or omnivores?

Jackals are omnivores, meaning they are animals that consume both plants and animals. 

Their diet includes fruits, and in the Serengeti woodland zone, they are very fond of grass rats. In Southern Africa, black-backed jackals are known to prey on unguarded sheep, lambs and goats.

This is the reason they are not very popular with farmers: they kill livestock. Farmers will therefore poison these African animals. 

An interesting, related fact is that jackals have an amazing ability to detect and, therefore, avoid poisoned meat. 

Jackals behave quite bravely and take liberties with the big predators. They move rapidly in to steal tidbits of meat from a lion's paw or a hyena's meal. 

In search of food, they will pick over kills made by large animals and even visit rubbish dumps.

Jackal personality traits

A Jackal pair forms a partner bond for life. This bond will last till one mate dies. Black-back couples do everything together. The only exception at the time of babysitting pups.

A Jackal couple will hunt together and share food. they will call one another when separated.

They are one of the rare mammalian species where both sexes mate for life. Mated pairs are territorial, with both female and male marking and defending their area.

Jackals reproduce annually in the dry seasons. They usually have 3 or 4 (up to 6) pups. Gestation period is 60 to 65 days. They start breeding at 1 to 2 years of age.

Predators

The most dangerous predators for jackals are leopards.

Eagles are a continual danger to young Jackal pups around the den. 

Challenges

Humans are encroaching on jackals' ecosystems.

The jackal is threatened by human population development.

The resulting expansion of roads, settlements, and agriculture results in their habitats disappearing.

Jackals are increasingly invading human settlements, where they can be considered a threat to cattle and poultry and therefore killed as pests.

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