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Jackal

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                  iJackal
   A Black-backed Jackal
   A Black-backed Jackal
         Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Mammalia
   Order:   Carnivora
   Family:  Canidae
   Genus:   Canis (in part)

                                   Species

   Canis aureus
   Canis adustus
   Canis mesomelas
   Canis simensis

   A jackal is any of four small to medium-sized members of the family
   Canidae, found in Africa and Asia. (The name jackal is borrowed from
   Turkish Çakal which originates from the Persian: Shaghāl ) 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) 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, the four 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.

   The Ancient Egyptian god of embalming and burial, 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.
   A Black-backed Jackal in Etosha National Park, Namibia
   Enlarge
   A Black-backed Jackal in Etosha National Park, Namibia

   Species:
     * Golden Jackal (Canis aureus)
     * Side-striped Jackal (Canis adustus)
     * Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas)
     * Ethiopian Wolf or Simian Jackal (Canis simensis)

Trivia

     * In the 1976 movie The Omen, and its 2006 remake, a jackal gives
       birth to the Anti-Christ.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackal"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
