THE JACKAL. 



257 



Ceylon, and neighboring countries, where it is found in very great numbers, forcing itself upon 

 the notice of the traveller not only by its bodily presence, but by its noisy howling wherewith 

 it vexes the ears of the wearied and sleepy wayfarer, as he endeavors in vain to find repose. 

 Nocturnal in their habits, the Jackals are accustomed to conceal themselves as much as possi- 

 ble daring the daytime, and to issue out on their hunting expeditions together with the advent 

 of night. Sometimes, a Jackal will prefer a solitary life, and is then a most provoking neigh- 

 bor to the habitations of civilized humanity ; for it is so voracious in its appetite that it 

 becomes a terribly destructive foe to domesticated animals, and so wily in its nature that it 

 carries on its malpractices with impunity until it has worked dire mischief in home or fold. 

 In these depredations, the audacity of the Jackal is as notable as his cunning. He will wait 

 at the very door, biding his time patiently until it be opened and he may slink through the 



JACKAL. (Jante aureus. 



aperture. Pigs, lambs, kids, and poultry fall victims to his insatiate appetite, and he has 

 been known to steal the sleeping puppies from the side of their mother without detection. 

 The larder suffers as severely from his attacks as the hen-roost, for his accommodating palate 

 is equally satisfied with cooked meat as with living prey. 



Always ready to take advantage of every favorable opportunity, the Jackal is a sad para- 

 site, and hangs on the skirts of the larger carnivora as they roam the country for prey, in the 

 hope of securing some share of the creatures which they destroy or wound. On account of 

 this companionship between the large and the small marauders, the Jackal has popularly 

 gained the name of the Lion's Provider. But, in due justice, the title ought to be reversed, 

 for the lion is in truth the Jackal's provider, and is often thereby deprived of the chance of 

 making a second meal on an animal which he has slain. Sometimes, it is said, the Jackal does 

 provide the lion with a meal, by becoming a victim to the hungry animal in default of better 

 and more savory prey. 



There is a very unpleasant odor which arises from this creature, nearly as powerful and 

 quite as offensive as that of the fox. In spite, however, of this drawback, the Jackal is often 

 used as an article of food among the natives, and is said, by those who have tried it, to be 

 pleasant to the palate, and very much superior to tough venison. A hungry lion, therefore, 

 may be expected to find but little impediment in the rank odor of a slaughtered Jackal. 



