Zimbabwe: Hwange NP – Black-backed Jackals

Another interesting animal is the savanna – Black-backed jackal. It’s a canine species that is the oldest dogs in the world from the evolutionary point of view, having little evolved since the prehistoric times. These jackals are monogamous and the whole family stays together for years – even grandparents helping to raise the grandchildren pups. They don’t compete with big predators for food, instead relying on small animals and rodents, and are pretty much omnivorous, happily eating plant matter as part of their diet. The are very territorial and work to mark and defend their area for pretty much their whole life, which is only about 7 years long. You can almost always see them in twos or larger group, patrolling the area.