Carnivores: Aardwolf African Wild Cat African Wild Dog Banded Mongoose Bat Eared Fox Black-backed Jackal Brown Hyena Cape Clawless Otter Cape Fox Caracal Cheetah Civet Dhole Large Spotted Genet Golden Jackal Honey badger Leopard African Lion Asiatic Lion Sand Cat Serval Side Striped Jackal Snow Leopard Spotted Hyena Striped Hyena Suricate (Meercat) Tiger White Tailed Mongoose Yellow Mongoose
Photo © Yvonne Milbank
The Jackal is generally regarded as a small scavenger, but as well as scavenging, it does hunt and kill its own food. It is often regarded as vermin, especially by farmers who suffer losses and tend to persecute the Jackal as a result. Despite this, jackals are one of the few carnivore species to survive well in close contact with humans and can often be found in and around human settlements scavenging from dustbins.
The Side Striped jackal is a much smaller predator than the Hyena, but is similar in size to a black backed jackal, being up to around 70-80 cm in length (plus another 30-40cm for the tail) and weighing around 7-12Kg. The side striped Jackal stands around 40-50cm high at the shoulder
In appearance it is similar to the other jackals but with a less pointed face and more rounded ears. The side striped jackal gets its name from the black and white horizontal strips on its sides. These vary in visibility with some individuals having more pronounced stripes than others.
Side striped Jackals are primarily nocturnal. They pair for life and maintain a territory which they mark with scat and urine. They are vocal animals and growl when they feel threatened or alarmed and bark loudly as a contact call.
Side Striped Jackals are at risk from leopards, and the pups are also vulnerable to eagles and snakes.
Side striped Jackals scavenge, but also hunt and kill their own food. Jackals prey on smaller mammals such as hares, rodents and small antelope as well as the young of larger antelopes. Side Striped Jackals will also eat snakes, beetles, crickets, spiders, fruit and berries. A pair of male and female jackal will often hunt together which significantly increases the chance of the hunt being successful than if the hunt is undertaken by a single Jackal.
Side Striped Jackals reproduce annually during the rainy season. The Side Striped Jackal has a gestation period of around 57-60 days. The vixens typically give birth to between 2 and 6 pups in a den which is usually a disused burrow dug by another species such as the aardvark. The pups are helpless at birth and remain in the den being cared for by the mother while the father hunts for food, either alone or with help from the previous litter of cubs who are now sub-adults. After around 2 weeks the pups start eating meat regurgitated by the parents, but they are not fully weaned till they are around 10 weeks old. At age 3-4 months, the pups start exploring the area around the den and gradually expanding to explore wider areas, and start learning to hunt. By the time they are 6 months old they are able to hunt well but still remain with the parents who feed, groom and play with the pups. At 6-8 months old some of the pups will leave the family unit to find a territory of their own, while some of the other pups will remain till they are 18 months or 2 years old and will become sub-adult helpers who help their parents raise the next litter of pups.
Jackals can carry rabies and their close family units plus their aggressive response to intruders means that rabies is easily spread through the Jackal population. Jackals are responsible for a significant percentage (20-30%) of recorded rabies cases in Africa. Jackals can also carry Canine Distemper Virus, and Canine parvovirus - diseases that also affect lions and African wild dogs, and which can be transmitted to domestic animals. This risk of disease transmission is another reason why Jackals are disliked and persecuted by many farmers.
Side Striped Jackals are mainly found in savannah areas and lightly wooded country.
Side Striped Jackals are found in North Eastern parts of South Africa, Botswana as well as Mozambique and parts of Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda.
© Predator Conservation Trust.
