184 THE COMMON JACKAL. 



off to the woods." * That they never returned again, I should 

 infer from the nature of this animal's attachment, and from the 

 silence of the author on that point. 



THE COMMON JACKAL. 

 (Canis aureus, Linn, j Sacalius, H. Smith.) 



The common jackal is said to inhabit nearly the whole of 

 Asia and the north of Africa j but Colonel Hamilton Smith 

 seems to think, that those who give it this extensive geographical 

 range have confounded it with other species. 



The Turkish and Persian jackal, which the above named 

 zoologist assumes to be the typical animal of the group, in fact 

 the true common jackal, resembles, in many external parti- 

 culars, a small wolf j but the fur of the body is more coarse, 

 and its straight tail is rather longer in proportion and more 

 brushy than in the latter animal. It is not much higher than 

 the common fox, but it is about half a foot longer. To 

 contrast it further with the fox, the jackal will be found to 

 have a broader nose, covered with reddish ashy-grey hairs, all 

 tipped with black. Its back and neck are yellowish grey, and 

 the limbs and under parts pale reddish yellow. 



Jackals, unlike the wolf or the fox, always associate in 

 numerous troops, sometimes consisting of as many as two 

 * Spectacle de la Nature (1744), p. 202. 



