THE BLACK-BACKED JACKAL 



When lions are out on the prowl for food, the 

 jackals are not far off ; and when the lord and lady 

 of the forest are satisfying their appetites off the 

 flesh of some animal they have slain, the hungry 

 jackals skulk around in the neighbouring bushes, or 

 at a respectful distance out' on the veld ; and the 

 instant the lions retire they rush in and eat up every 

 morsel of the leavings. 



Hunters are often dreadfully pestered by jackals, 

 which take every opportunity of chewing up the 

 reims, which are the softened thongs of animal hide 

 for securing the oxen, &c. When a hunter happens 

 to kill an animal many miles from his camp, he on 

 his return some hours later with pack animals or a 

 cart, finds, perchance, nothing but a skeleton and 

 a crowd of jackals fiercely quarrelling over the 

 marrow bones. 



A hunter invariably has a crowd of jackals sur- 

 rounding his camp at night, attracted by the smell 

 of the flesh of the game animals he has killed. 



In the absence of carrion, the jackal kills and 

 devours any living thing which is unable to resist. 

 So cowardly, however, is it, that animals consider- 

 ably smaller than itself which are courageous and 

 fight fiercely, the jackal leaves severely alone. The 

 smaller antelopes, hares, game birds, their young 

 and eggs ; lizards, rats, mice, small tortoises, in- 

 sects, and in fact any of the numerous more or less 

 defenceless creatures of veld, forest, and mountain 

 it preys upon. 



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