Black Backed
Jackal
Aggressive dog species that hunts a wide range of prey

Order: Carnivora    Family: Canidae     Genus & Species: Canis mesomelas

One population occurs from Somalia through Kenya to northern Tanzania; the other is found in the southernmost quarter of Africa apart from the Namib Desert.   The jackal is an adaptable, aggressive dog species that hunts a wide range of prey and boosts its diet with plant material and carrion.

Habitat
The black backed jackal is one of three jackal species in Africa.  They each have varied habitat preferences, which helps reduce competition for food.  The black backed jackal occupies a territory on dry brush and acacia savannah.  Its two populations are separated by a belt of moist woodland, one in eastern Africa, the other in the southern part of the continent, a habitat that it avoids but one that is favoured by the side-striped jackal.		     The jackal may use an earth den, a rocky outcrop, an old aardvark hole or an excavated termite mound in which to shelter, rest and rear its young.
The jackal may use an earth den, a rocky outcrop, an old aardvark hole or an excavated termite mound in which to shelter, rest and rear its young.

Adults and juveniles have a hierarchy, maintained by gestures and occasional scraps.
Behaviour
A mated pair and its cubs make up the basic social unit.  But frequently, a mature offspring stays with its parents for an extra year or so, helping to protect and feed the cubs of their next litter.  This is an effective strategy.   A pair without a helper always loses cubs to predation or starvation, typically rearing only one cub each season.  But with two or three helpers to babysit the cubs and feed them on milk or meat, a pair can keep a whole litter of six cubs.  Adults and juveniles have a hierarchy, maintained by gestures and occasional scraps.
The adult pair border marks a core territory of about 2.5 sq km with urine and defends it from outsiders, although the two animals roam over a larger area of about 15 sq km.   The jackal keeps in contact with other members of its extended group by yapping, rather than howling.

Pairs join up to form packs and hunt larger grazers
Feeding
The black backed jackal is an accomplished scavenger.  In parts of its range where there are large herds of grazers,
much of its diet consists of carrion from natural mortalities or big cat kills.
This lithe jackal is also a capable hunter. Active at dawn and dusk, it takes small prey such as invertebrates, frogs, lizards and snakes as well as rodents and birds. An antelope calf, lying up in a thicket, makes a rich prize.  Often a single adult jackal can take a calf, but it usually takes a pair to part one from its fierce mother.  One jackal may take the calf before it has a chance to flee, while the other keeps the mother at bay.  Pairs also join up to form packs and hunt larger grazers such as adult Thompsons gazelles or zebras.
When competition is stiff or prey is scarce, the jackal boosts its diet with fallen fruit, nuts, berries and even grass.

Breeding
An established pair mates between May and August.  Two months later the female gives birth to a litter of up to eight blind and helpless cubs in a simple den.   The pups are weaned at eight or nine weeks and are fed by both parents on regurgitated food until they reach about five months of age.
The offspring reach sexual maturity at 10-11 months.  Single cubs 		 The pups are fed by both parents on regurgitated food 
usually stay on to support their parents, while those from larger litters usually disperse a month or two later. They form temporary groups and may wander vast distances in search of mates and territories.

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