Both the male and the female parent are involved in the feeding and rearing of pups, with weaning taking place at around 56-63 days after birth. The females give birth in an underground burrow, and the litter consists of an average of four pups. The mating season spans from May to August, with a gestation period of 60-65 days. How do they reproduce?īlack-backed jackals form monogamous pairs, meaning that they have one mating partner for life. They may live twice as long in captivity. The African black-backed jackals have an average lifespan of seven years in the wild.
How long does a black-backed jackal live? These animals do not have cordial intra-pack relationships and the pups establish rigid dominance rankings as they age. However, an exception is made during hunting when a pack of multiple jackals may be seen taking down large prey. The social unit of the African black-backed jackals is pretty compact, consisting of the male and female parents and their pups. Besides this, farmlands or agricultural lands provide extra benefits to these animals with additional sources of food. They will mostly be found in relatively open areas that are devoid of dense vegetation growth. The black-backed jackal habitat is mostly dry areas receiving an annual rainfall of 39-79 in (100-200 cm). The two populations of the black-blacked jackals inhabit discrete regions of the African continent - one of them is found in southern Africa that includes the Cape of Good Hope, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, and southern Mozambique and the other population belongs to East Africa with a range that includes regions of northern Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and southern Ethiopia. They may also be found in farmlands and suburbs. Where does a black-backed jackal live?īlack-backed jackals live in forests, shrublands, savannahs, grasslands, marine intertidal regions, and the desert regions of Africa. However, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), their global population is stable. The exact number of black-backed jackals in the world is not known. How many black-backed jackals are there in the world? What class of animal does a black-backed jackal belong to?īlack-backed jackals belong to the class of Mammalia.
The black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) is a species of jackal belonging to the dog family Canidae. Want to know more about these compelling African animals? Then read on for more unique black-backed jackal facts, from their diet and habitat to reproduction and physical appearance.Įnrich your knowledge of the animal world with some amazing and interesting information about the golden jackal and the bat-eared red fox.īlack-Backed Jackal Interesting Facts What type of animal is a black-backed jackal? In addition to this, these African animals are known for their typical wailing calls. The characteristic physical feature that distinguishes these animals from other jackal species is their brownish or tan coat and a black saddle that extends along the back. Moreover, they are a common pest of livestock. It is both a scavenger and an excellent hunter in its own right, hunting down prey or spotted stealing morsels of a lion's kill. The black-backed jackal is one of the most primitive species in the genus Canis and has hardly shown any signs of change since the Pleistocene era that existed around 2.5 million years ago. Closely related to the side-striped jackal (Canis adustus), the black-backed jackal is a widespread species with two subpopulations - the cape black-backed jackal of southern Africa and the black-backed jackal of East Africa. The black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) is a dog-like mammalian carnivore endemic to the continent of Africa.