Jackal for sale

Jackals often frequent folklore and stories and are considered a symbolic animal by many. Even with this attention, though, jackals are no more mystical than a dog or a cat. Jackals are canine mammals in the same genus as domestic dogs and are medium-sized, weighing in at 17-25 pounds as adults, jackals can grow up to 33 inches in length, with a tail of about 10 inches and a height of about 16 inches. In the wild, they can live to 9 years and in captivity, they can live to 16 years. Many people have described their overall appearance as a cross between a fox and a German Shepherd, with the small face, delicate legs, and fluffy tail of a fox and the long, alert ears of a German Shepherd. The black-backed jackals specifically show this resemblance. There are three species of jackal: golden jackal, side-striped jackal, and black-backed jackal. These three species differ in the color of their coat and in their habitat. The golden jackal has a coat that is sandy in color and lives in the open, grassy plains. The side-striped jackal has a coat that is dull in color with a white tip on the tail and indistinct stripes on the sides of its body. This jackal lives along the waterways that have dense undergrowth. 

The black-backed jackal has a coat of black hair along the back and tail and rust-colored hair on the rest of the body and lives in dryer regions. The black-backed jackal and side-striped jackal are seen in sub-Sahara Africa and the golden jackal is seen in south-central Eurasia. The black-backed jackal is the more frequently seen species, as it is out during the day more often than the other two jackals, which are both more nocturnal.

“Jackal” has been used to describe many smaller canines in the past, however, now it is used specifically for these three species. Each of these species are opportunistic omnivores and have long legs and curved canine teeth. These teeth are perfect for hunting small mammal, birds, and reptiles. Being cooperative, cunning hunters, they cooperate with others to hunt their prey, however, they also eat fruits, berries, grass, and even rummage through trash dumps for food. Often times, they will eat the remaining hunt of other animals. While they are predators to some, they are prey to others, with predators such as leopards, hyenas, and eagles hunting them. They also have large feet and fused leg bones, which give them a physique perfect for long-distance running. They are capable of speeds up to 10 miles per hour over long periods of time. Even though they are spread out over different areas, some populations of jackal are endangered due to killing and habitat loss. 

Behavior 
Jackals can live alone or in pairs, however, they can also live in packs of about 6. In these packs, their behavior is highly synchronized. Even with their generally solitary lifestyle, jackals are one of the few mammals that mate for life. A male and a female jackal will not leave each other once mated and these mated pairs are often territorial, with both the male and female jackal marking and defending the territory. In these mated pairs, litters are generally around 2-4 pups. For the first week of life, the pups remain where they were born. After around 3 weeks, they go outside to fight and play with each other, with the mother moving the den every 2 weeks to prevent being found by predators. These pups are suckled and fed until they are about 2 months old. 
After 6 months, they can hunt on their own, however the mother will still groom and play with them. While many times, the pups leave the family system one they can hunt on their own, sometimes, a pup will stay behind to help raise the younger siblings. Many times, pups don’t live past 14 weeks of life and this help of another jackal helps to increase the survival rate of these pups. Jackals are most active at dawn and dusk, hunting and scavenging for food and caring for their pups. Jackals are very vocal with one other and will yell or yap to communicate, usually when they have found food or located prey.

Folklore 
Jackals have shown up in a good many legends and stories, sometimes as casual characters and sometimes as main figures. There are two recurring themes in myths and legends. The first is that, like foxes and coyotes, jackals are clever sorcerers. The second theme is one of desolation, lonliness, and abandonment. This second one often references the habit of jackals inhabiting city ruins or other places abandoned by humans. In the Bible, they are often called “wild dogs”. Specifically in India and Pakistan, Jackals are used to describe a lack of courage, often being compared to a lion, as in the famous saying “One day as a lion is better than a hundred days as a jackal.” In addition, they are often the subject of superstitions around the subjects of death and evil 
spirits. Jackals have also shown up in several religions. In ancient Egypt, the god associated with mummification and the afterlife, Anubis, has the head of a jackal and would lead souls of the dead to their judgment. Within the Serer people, they believed that the jackal was one of the first animals created by their supreme deity. And in Bengali tantric traditions, jackals are considered to be the representative of their goddess Kali. Jackals even show up in more modern stories, making multiple appearances in the story Swiss Family Robinson, showing up as a mad cowardly companion of Shere Khan in The Jungle Book, and being used as a nickname for a main antagonist in the Red Rising Trilogy. A you can see from the examples above, a good amount of people don’t think very highly of jackals, often using them to depict qualities such as cowardice, desolation, and other less than pleasant subjects.