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February 15, 2006

African Field Notes: The Black-Backed Jackal

Black-backed Jackals live singly or in pairs, and are sometimes found in small packs. Jackals can best be described as opportunistic omnivores, I've seen them feeding on the outskirts of kill sights along with the much-larger hyena.

Black-Backed Jackals are among the few mammalian species in which the male and female mate for life. Mated pairs are territorial and both the female and male mark and defend the boundaries of their territory.

Males bring food home for nursing mothers and pups, often regurgitating it – since it’s easier and safer to swallow a meal in order to keep it from being stolen by other predators. Jackals communicate using yipping calls and jackals recognize their own family’s calls but ignore those of other jackals. Some young adults choose not to leave home, but to stay and help raise the next litter of pups.

Jackals have occasionally been known to bury their dead, especially young that die. The mother jackal changes den sites about every two weeks, so the young are less likely to be found by predators.

Latin Name: Canis mesomelas

Check out our Safari South Africa podcast - an audio program and a video that features this animal!

Posted by sorsha at February 15, 2006 9:36 PM