A jackal is any of four small to medium-sized members of the family Canidae, found in Africa and Asia. (The name jackal is borrowed from Turkish çakal.) Jackals fill a similar ecological niche to the Coyote in North America, that of scavengers and lesser predators. Their long legs and curved canine teeth are adapted for hunting small mammals, birds and reptiles. Blunt feet and fused leg bones give them a long-distance runner's physique, capable of maintaining speeds of 16km/h (10mph) for extended periods of time. They are nocturnal, most active at dawn and dusk.
In jackal society the social unit is that of a monogamous pair which defends its territory from other pairs. These territories are defended by vigorously chasing intruding rivals and marking landmarks around the territory with urine and feces. The territory may be large enough to hold some young adults who stay with their parents until they establish their own territory. Jackals may occasionally assemble in small packs, for example to scavenge a carcass, but normally hunt alone or as a pair.
Jackals are considered close to what all ancestral canids looked and behaved like. Despite their outward similarity, the four species are not considered closely related to one another. The Simian Jackal is actually a wolf that took on the appearance of a large fox or jackal through convergent evolution (by adopting a similar diet of small rodents), and the other three 'true jackals' are believed to have split from each other 6 mya. The Golden Jackal is thought to have evolved in Asia whilst the other two species evolved in Africa.
The Ancient Egyptian god of embalming and burial, Anubis, was depicted as a man with a jackal's head. The presence of jackals around abattoirs and funeral grounds gave rise to the association between jackals and the dead. Today they are one of the more commonly seen animals on safaris, and are found outside of national parks and do well in human altered landscapes and even near and in human settlements.
2006-06-09 21:12:59
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answer #1
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answered by Green Grenades 3
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A jackal is any of four small to medium-sized members of the family Canidae, found in Africa and Asia. (The name jackal is borrowed from Turkish çakal.) Jackals fill a similar ecological niche to the Coyote in North America, that of scavengers and lesser predators. Their long legs and curved canine teeth are adapted for hunting small mammals, birds and reptiles. Blunt feet and fused leg bones give them a long-distance runner's physique, capable of maintaining speeds of 16km/h (10mph) for extended periods of time. They are nocturnal, most active at dawn and dusk.
2006-06-10 03:09:52
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answer #2
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answered by great_pretender 2
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An animal being brave to tiny animals and that wee on seeing mighty one due to fear.
die like a wolf, than living like a jackal
2006-06-10 03:10:57
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answer #3
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answered by rarunshourie 1
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jackal is a ghost in "13 ghost"movie
well itz said he was d most dangerous ghost in d movie
anywayz.. if yur askin abt jackal-jackal.. its an animal..lolz
i strongly think yu asked abt jackal d ghost not d jackal-jackal
ryt?
may GOD bless ya
T.
2006-06-10 13:06:36
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answer #4
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answered by tanzy 3
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Check out the following links:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=jackal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackal
2006-06-10 03:09:19
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackals
2006-06-10 03:09:50
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answer #6
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answered by Junkbondtrader 2
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watch the movie the 13 ghosts.... its like a rabid dog/psycho person
2006-06-10 03:16:22
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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A wild cat.
2006-06-10 03:08:53
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answer #8
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answered by rob. 2
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something that should be eating off a proud white ladys head
2006-06-11 01:15:58
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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an animal
2006-06-10 03:11:10
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answer #10
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answered by Anonymous
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