322 THE JACKAL. 



The common JACKAL, or KHOLAH, as it is termed by the natives, is an inhabitant of 

 India, 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 ac- 

 customed to conceal themselves as much as possible during 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 neighbor to the habita- 

 tions 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 car- 

 ries 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 aperture. Pigs, lambs, kids, and poultry fall victims to his insatiate ap- 

 petite, 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 

 parasite, 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 becom- 

 ing 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. 



In India, the tiger is often followed during his nightly quests by a company of these 

 animals, and in most cases by a single old Jackal, called in the native tongue, the 

 Khole, or Kholah-balloo, whose expressive cries are well understood by the hunters, 

 whether bipedal or quadrupedal. Many a tiger has been discovered and brought to 

 his death by the yell of a Jackal, which led the pursuers on his track. When the tiger 

 has killed some large animal, such as a buffalo, which he cannot consume at one time, 

 the Jackals collect around the carcass at a respectful distance, and wait patiently until 

 the tiger moves off and they can venture to approach. 



As soon as the tiger moves away, the Jackals rush from all directions, carousing 

 upon the slaughtered buffalo, and each anxious to eat as much as it can contain in the 

 shortest time. So eager are they after their prey that they are jealous not only of 

 their companions, but of the vultures that gather round every dead animal, and snap 

 fiercely at them as they wheel round on their broad pinions, or try to push their 

 beaks among the noses of the fighting and struggling Jackals. But although they may 

 snap and snarl, they never seem to inflict any real injury. They are so audacious in 

 their hunger that they will follow human hunters, and take possession of the dead game 

 in a marvellously shameless manner. 



They always keep a sharp watch for wounded animals, and pursue them with such 

 relentless vigor that they are said never to permit their weakened prey to escape their 

 fangs. One of these wild dogs, as they really seem to be, has been known to leap at the 

 throat of a wounded Axis deer, and then to hang with such indomitable pertinacity 

 that it resisted all the efforts of its wretched victim to free itself from so terrible a foe. 

 When hanging by its teeth, it contracted its body into as small a compass as was 

 compatible with its size. 



