Jackals

All 3 species of jackals on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 86 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

• It lives in two populations some 900 km apart, in eastern and southern Africa.

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• It feeds on small mammals, birds, insects, fruit and carrion.

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• Commonly only 1 to 3 of the pups born in a litter survive.

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• It is one of the most widely distributed canids of the Old World, found from southern Europe to South-East Asia, and it has recently expanded its range across several parts of central Europe.

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• The most omnivorous of the jackals: fruit and insects make up much of its diet.

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• It is the most fruit-eating of the African canids: in some seasons more than half its diet is fruit, and it acts as a seed disperser for several savannah trees.

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• Its white tail tip is the feature that tells it apart at a glance from the black-backed jackal, whose tail tip is black, and that detail is the only reliable one at night in a spotlight beam.

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Ecosystems