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 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 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 . — Cards 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. 
