Side-striped Jackal

The Side-striped Jackal is a medium-sized canid native to sub-Saharan Africa, distinguished by pale stripes running along its flanks. It is the least studied of Africa's jackal species and tends to be more solitary and less vocal than its relatives. Highly adaptable, it thrives in a variety of habitats from savanna to woodland, and even peri-urban areas. Its omnivorous diet and behavioral flexibility make it remarkably resilient compared to other jackal species.

Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Central, East, and Southern Africa

Widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal in West Africa through Central Africa (DRC, Cameroon) to East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia) and into Southern Africa (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, northern South Africa). Absent from the Horn of Africa's arid regions and southern African deserts.

Altitude and depth

Sea level up to approximately 2,700 meters in East African highlands

Seasonal movements

No true migration; breeding is often timed to coincide with the rainy season when food resources are more abundant, though this varies by region.

Prefers moist savanna, woodland, and forest-savanna mosaics, often near water sources; also found in agricultural land and suburban edges. Avoids arid and open grassland habitats favored by black-backed jackals. Dense vegetation cover is important for denning and shelter.

Adaptations to its environment

Omnivorous diet allows exploitation of diverse food sources including insects, fruit, and small vertebrates. Nocturnal/crepuscular activity reduces competition and predation risk from larger carnivores. Cryptic coloration and quiet behavior help avoid detection by predators and competitors like black-backed jackals and hyenas.

Listed as Least Concern by IUCN due to a wide distribution range and stable overall population trend. The species shows tolerance to habitat modification and human presence, unlike more specialized carnivores.

Estimated population

No precise global population estimate exists, but the species is considered common to locally abundant across much of its range; population trend is thought to be stable.

Habitat loss from agricultural expansion, persecution due to perceived livestock threats, road mortality, and disease transmission from domestic dogs (rabies, canine distemper). Bushmeat snaring can also cause incidental mortality.

Diseases and parasites

Susceptible to rabies, canine distemper virus, and mange, often transmitted through contact with domestic dogs; also hosts various ticks and intestinal parasites.

Present in numerous protected areas across its range including national parks and game reserves in East and Southern Africa. Some countries have implemented rabies vaccination programs for domestic dogs that indirectly benefit wild canid populations.

Recommended actions

Continued monitoring of population trends outside protected areas, disease surveillance and vaccination buffer zones near human settlements, and community education to reduce unwarranted persecution.

Grizzled grey-to-tawny coat with a distinctive pale horizontal stripe bordered by dark fur along each flank. The tail is bushy with a white tip, and the muzzle and legs tend to be more rufous in color. Ears are relatively short and rounded compared to other jackal species.

Size

Body length 60-100 cm, with a tail of 30-41 cm; shoulder height approximately 35-50 cm

Weight

6-14 kg, with males slightly larger than females on average

Distinctive features

The namesake pale side stripe bordered by black fur distinguishes it from the black-backed jackal (which has a dark saddle) and the golden jackal (which lacks flank markings). It also has a shorter, more robust muzzle and a white-tipped tail unique among African jackals.

Differences between males and females

Minimal sexual dimorphism; males are only slightly larger and heavier than females, with no significant color or pattern differences.

Generally monogamous and lives in mated pairs or small family groups, sometimes with offspring from previous litters assisting as helpers. Less social and more solitary in foraging behavior compared to black-backed jackals.

When it is active

Primarily nocturnal and crepuscular, resting in dense cover or dens during the heat of the day.

Diet

Omnivorous diet including insects (especially termites and beetles), small mammals, reptiles, birds, fruit, and carrion. Wild fruits can make up a significant portion of the diet seasonally, more so than in other jackal species.

How it feeds and hunts

Forages opportunistically and solitarily, using a combination of stalking small prey and scavenging; insects are often caught by digging or pouncing on the ground.

Communication

Uses a distinctive soft, owl-like hooting call rather than the yipping typical of other jackals, along with scent marking via urine and glands to establish territory boundaries.

Interactions with other species

Subordinate to larger carnivores like spotted hyenas and lions, and may compete with black-backed jackals where ranges overlap. Can fall prey to leopards and large raptors when young.

Role in its ecosystem

Functions as a mesopredator and scavenger, helping control small mammal and insect populations while also serving as a seed disperser through fruit consumption.

Breeding season varies by region but often peaks in the dry season; gestation lasts approximately 57-70 days, producing litters of 3-6 pups born in underground dens.

Raising the young

Both parents participate in raising pups, with the female nursing while the male provides food; older siblings from previous litters sometimes act as helpers. Pups are weaned around 8-10 weeks and become independent by 5-6 months.

Maturity and lifespan

Sexual maturity reached around 6-12 months; lifespan in the wild is typically 6-10 years, extending to 10-14 years in captivity.

Classification

Class Mammalia > Order Carnivora > Family Canidae > Genus Lupulella > Species Lupulella adustus

Subspecies

Several subspecies proposed including L. a. adustus (Central Africa), L. a. bweha (East Africa), L. a. kaffensis (Ethiopia), L. a. lateralis (West Africa), and L. a. notatus (Southern Africa), though taxonomy remains debated.

Scientific synonyms

Canis adustus (former genus placement before reclassification into Lupulella)

Recent studies

Recent phylogenetic research using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA has confirmed that side-striped and black-backed jackals form a distinct evolutionary lineage separate from true Canis species, leading to their reclassification into Lupulella in 2018.

Genome and DNA

Diploid chromosome number of 2n=78, similar to other canids; genetic studies have supported reclassification from Canis to the distinct genus Lupulella alongside the black-backed jackal.

Compared with similar species

Compared to the black-backed jackal, the side-striped jackal is less vocal, more omnivorous, and prefers denser, wetter habitats rather than open savanna. It is generally considered less aggressive and more retiring in behavior.

Unlike other jackals known for yipping calls, the side-striped jackal makes a unique hooting sound reminiscent of an owl. It is also one of the few jackal species known to readily eat large quantities of fruit, acting as an informal seed disperser in its ecosystem.

Where and how to see it

Best observed during night drives in game reserves within its range such as South Luangwa National Park in Zambia or Kruger National Park's northern regions in South Africa; using spotlights at dusk increases sighting chances.

Risks to humans

No notable risk to humans directly, though as a rabies vector species, bites should be treated with caution and any encounter with an aggressive or sick-looking individual reported to authorities.

Human uses

Occasionally hunted or trapped for its fur in some regions, though this is not widespread; in some cultures certain body parts are used in traditional medicine practices.

Myths and legends

In some African folklore traditions, jackals in general are portrayed as clever tricksters, though the side-striped jackal specifically features less prominently in mythology compared to the black-backed jackal.