Image by Leon Pauleikhoff, Unsplash
Introduction of Jackal
Jackals are a small canine breed with close ties to animals such as dogs and coyotes.
Jackals are often referred to as the smartest in Animal Kingdom.
They are more likely to choose grasslands, semi-arid regions, lands with shrubs and thickets, and savanna for their habitat.
Three species of jackals are found today. The Golden Jackal is most widespread, starting from Southern Europe to South Asia. The Black-Backed Jackal is mostly found in Southern Africa and East Africa. The Side-Striped Jackal is found in Southern and Central Africa.
In the IUCN list, leopards are categorised under the Least Concern list.
The average lifespan of a jackal is around 10 to 12 years.
Scientific Name of Jackal
The scientific name of the Golden Jackal or Common Jackal is Canis aureus
The scientific name of the Black-Backed jackal is Canis mesomelas
The scientific name of the Side-Striped jackal is Canis adustus
Physical Description of Jackal
Adult Golden Jackals are average of 11 kg in weight, whereas Black-Backed are 6 to 10 kgs and Side-Stripes are 6 to 14 kg in weight.
Golden Jackals are the most largely built (Adult as 83 cm in length), and Black-Backed is the lightly built type. However, Black-Backed can grow up to 90 cm in length. The size of Side-Striped varies between 70 to 80 cm.
Jackal's height can be up to 50 cm.
Each species of jackals has a unique defining appearance, which is evident in their names.
Black-backed jackals have black hair running all over their back from neck to tail.
Golden jackals have a yellow or pale golden coat with hints of brown.
Side-striped jackals have a white stripe from the elbow to the hip and black side stripes.
The curved canine teeth and long legs make jackals well-prepared for hunting.
In addition, jackals can run long-distance at consistent speeds of up to 16 km/hrs.
Life Cycle of Jackal
Jackals choose their mate for life, and both parents are equally invested in caring for the young.
The gestation period varies among jackals from 60 days (Golden Jackal) to up to 70 days (Side-Striped)
Jackals feed their pups with their mothers' milk and regurgitated food for around two months.
Mother jackals change their dens frequently to safeguard the pups before they mature for hunting, at the age of 6 months.
Many jackal pups die before reaching 14 weeks of age, primarily due to predators, such as leopards and tigers.
Characteristics of Jackal
Jackals are nocturnal and diurnal, meaning that they remain active at all times of the day except for Side-striped jackals, as they are strictly nocturnal animals.
Jackals can effectively adapt to changing environments.
Jackals are aggressively defensive of their territory from other jackals and use different sounds to communicate with the rest of the pack.
Jackals generally live in small packs of around six members and do everything together.
Typically, adult pairs form their territory, and all the pack members are from the same family.
As a result, a group of jackals can even dominate a full-grown leopard.
Jackals mark their territory with urine and faeces.
Diet of Jackal
Jackals are omnivorous, which means they eat both meat and plants.
Jackals have a wide variety of diet menus, including berries, ground-dwelling birds, fruits, reptiles, grass, and animals meats.
Jackals are mainly scavengers. They follow bigger predators in the forest to eat off the remains after the hunters have had their fill.
Black-Backed are most aggressive among Jackals. They even attack much larger prey than their size.
Jackals won't hesitate to scour through human trash to find anything to eat in urban areas.
