Black-backed jackal

Description:

The main characteristic of the black-backed jackal, which gives it its name, is the black hair running from the back of the neck to the tail (Van Valkenburgh 1994). The chest is white, and the under parts are white to rusty-white, whereas the rest of the body ranges from reddish brown to ginger in appearance. Adults stand about 38cm at the shoulder and are nearly a meter long in length. The head is dog-like, with a pointed muzzle and high pointed ears. The winter coat of male adults develops a reddish to an almost deep russet red color. Females tend to be less richly colored (Ginsberg 1990). Sexual dimorphism does exist; males tend to be larger than females, but this difference is small. (Ginsberg, 1990)

Habitat:

The habitat of the black-backed jackal is quite variable ranging from small cities and the suburbs of large cities to the Namib desert (Ginsberg 1990). They tend to be more common in dry areas that receive an annual rainfall of between 100-200 cm (Downs et al. 1991). These jackals are associated with open terrain and not forest or heavy brush. This species can scavenge in an area where bigger game is hunted and killed or it can feed off the remnants of human handouts. Furthermore, in the open grasslands of today, human development in the form of agriculture provides an additional source of food for this species. Geographic Range: The black-backed jackal can be found only in Africa. The species lives in two discrete areas separated by roughly 900km. One region includes the southern-most tip of the continent including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The other area is along the eastern coastline, including Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia (Smithers 1983). This separation may exist for geographical reasons. Between both populations lies Olduvai Gorge (part of the Great Rift Valley) in northern Tanzania. This landscape is extremely arid making living conditions for most organisms extremely difficult.

Notes:

This jackal was spotted at the rhino and lion nature reserve: http://www.rhinolion.co.za/