46o DOG TRIBE 



A third species is the variegated jackal ({7. variegatus) of Abyssinia 

 and Somaliland, which, although standing about 1 5 inches at the 

 shoulder, and therefore but little inferior in stature to the Egyptian 

 species, is (according to Mr. R. I. Pocock's description in the Kennel 

 Club Cydopcedi(i) much smaller and lighter in build, its total length 

 being only 40 inches. Compared with the Egyptian jackal, which is 

 built more on the lines of a wolf, the Morocco species has a more 

 greyhound-like character, its height being due to its great length of 

 limb. The ears are somewhat larger than in the Egyptian jackal ; 

 and the general body-colour is pale stone-buff, with blotches of black. 



As a companion to its small leopard, Somaliland possesses a pigmy 

 jackal (C viengesi), standing only a dozen inches in height, and 

 characterised by its greyish -yellow body-colour, mingled with only a 

 small proportion of black, the muzzle and legs being more decidedly 

 yellow, and the under-parts white. The handsomest member of the 

 whole group is undoubtedly the black-backed or silver-backed jackal 

 {C. viesouielas), which is absolutely unmistakable, and has a range 

 extending from Abyssinia to Cape Colony. It looks, in fact, almost as 

 though it carried a black saddle-cloth ; and the contrast between this 

 sable, silver-spangled area and the bright rufous tan of the flanks and 

 limbs is extremely striking and effective. All the blackness in this 

 species is indeed concentrated in the back ; the black on the fore-legs 

 of other jackals being absent. The large ears, coupled with the sharp 

 and slender muzzle, give to the black-backed jackal a somewhat fox-like 

 physiognomy. 



The last African representative of the group is the side-striped 

 jackal {C. adustus or C. lateralis), so called from the presence on each 

 flank of a white and a black stripe, the latter of which corresponds in 

 position with the margin of the " saddle-cloth " of its black-backed 

 cousin. Greyish drab mingled with black is the dominant colour, but 

 there is a tendency to rufous on the face and limbs ; while the rather 

 long tail, unlike the preceding species, usually terminates in a black 

 tip. The teeth and skull are relatively feeble ; and the latter is some- 

 what flattened above, like that of a fox. The range of this jackal 

 extends from the Gaboon in the west and Uganda in the east to 

 Zululand in the south. 



The following observations were contributed a few years ago by 

 Mr. P. J. du Toit to the SontJi African Agricultural Ga.zette in regard to 

 the damage done to sheep-farming by the black-backed jackal, and the 

 alleged harmfulness to the same industry of certain other small carnivora 

 which seem likewise to come under the general designation of jackals 



