460 DOG TRIBE 



A third species is the variegated jackal (C. 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 Cyclopedia} 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. mengest), 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. niesomelas], 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 some\vhat 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 South African Agricultural Gazette 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 



