jackal

 

name for several Old World carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis, which also includes the dog and the wolf. Jackals are found in Africa and S Asia, where they inhabit deserts, grasslands, and brush country. They are similar in size to the North American prairie wolf, or coyote, and like the coyote, they howl and yap before the evening hunt. Renowned as scavengers, jackals also hunt small animals such as rodents and gazelle fawns. Pairs generally mate for life; they forage by night and spend the day in holes or with a litter hidden in brush. The black-backed jackal, Canis mesomelas, the simian jackal, C. simensis, and the side-striped jackal, C. adustus, are found only in Africa; they are territorial and form complex social groups. The golden, or Asian, jackal, C. aureus, is found in S Asia and parts of N Africa; they usually hunt in small packs. Jackals are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Canidae.

Bibliography

See J. L. Gittleman, Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution (1989).

This article is about the animal. For other meanings, see jackal (disambiguation).

Jackal
A Black-backed Jackal
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Canidae Genus: Canis
Species
Canis aureus Canis adustus Canis mesomelas

A jackal (from Turkish çakal, via Persian shaghal ultimately from Sanskrit sṛgālaḥ ^[1][2]) is any of three (sometimes four) small to medium-sized members of the family Canidae, found in Africa, Asia and Southeastern Europe.^[3] Jackals fill a similar ecological niche to the Coyote in North America, that of scavengers and lesser predators. Their long legs and curved canine teeth are adapted for hunting small mammals, birds and reptiles. Blunt feet and fused leg bones give them a long-distance runner's physique, capable of maintaining speeds of 16km/h (10mph) (just over 6 min/mile) for extended periods of time. They are nocturnal, most active at dawn and dusk.

In jackal society the social unit is that of a monogamous pair which defends its territory from other pairs. These territories are defended by vigorously chasing intruding rivals and marking landmarks around the territory with urine and feces. The territory may be large enough to hold some young adults who stay with their parents until they establish their own territory. Jackals may occasionally assemble in small packs, for example to scavenge a carcass, but normally hunt alone or as a pair.

Jackals are considered close to what all ancestral canids looked and behaved like. Despite their outward similarity, these species are not considered closely related to one another. The Simian Jackal is actually a wolf that is thought to have taken on the appearance of a large fox or jackal through convergent evolution (by adopting a similar diet of small rodents), and the other three 'true jackals' are believed to have split from each other 6 mya. The Golden Jackal is thought to have evolved in Asia whilst the other two species evolved in Africa.

Species:

• Golden Jackal (Canis aureus)
• Side-striped Jackal (Canis adustus)
• Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas)

The Ethiopian Wolf (Canis simensis) is sometimes called the Red or Simian Jackal, but is more closely related to the wolves.

Ancient use

The Ancient Egyptian god of embalming and the underworld, Anubis, was depicted as a man with a jackal's head. Today they are one of the more commonly seen animals on safaris, and are found outside of national parks and do well in human altered landscapes and even near and in human settlements.

Use as derogatory language

• In English, the expression 'jackalling' is sometimes used to describe the work done by a subordinate to save the time of a superior. (For example, a junior lawyer may peruse large quantities of material on behalf of a barrister.) This came from the tradition that the jackal will sometimes lead a lion to its prey. In other languages, the same word is sometimes used to describe the behaviour of persons who try to scavenge scraps from the misfortunes of others, for example by looting a village from which the inhabitants have fled because of a disaster.
• In Nonviolent Communication, "jackal language" refers to communication that labels, judges, and criticizes.

In popular media

• In the 1976 movie The Omen, and its 2006 remake, a jackal gives birth to Damien Thorn (the Antichrist).
• In Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities, a main character, Sydney Carton is portrayed as a Jackal.
• In Johann David Wyss's The Swiss Family Robinson, the two dogs battle a dozen or more jackals.
• In the movie Babel, the Moroccan family buys a rifle to shoot jackals.
• In the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the supposed master con artist's alias is "The Jackal."
• Billy Corgan, lead singer/guitarist of Smashing Pumpkins mentions jackals in the songs "X.Y.U." and "Doomsday Clock".
• In the TV show Family Guy, Stewie plays Pictionary with several people, one character repeatedly guessing Stewie's picture to be a jackal.
• At Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario the Intergrated Telecommunications Program (ITCT) has a mascot named "The Jackal".
• The ECHL, Elmira Jackals are named for the animal.

References

• The New Encyclopedia of Mammals edited by David Macdonald, Oxford University Press, 2001; ISBN 0-19-850823-9

See also

• Bardi - shapechanging spirit in Trebizond folklore (feminine jackal)
• Anubis - Egyptian god with the head of a jackal

External links

• Jackal: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation

Footnotes

1. ^ American Heritage Dictionary - Jackal entry
2. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary - Jackal entry
3. ^ Ivory, A. 1999. "Canis aureus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed January 18, 2007 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_aureus.html.

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