This jackal is by far the most aggressive of the three species, even daring at times to raid settlements at night, killing flocks of chickens. Jackals tend to look like a cross between a wolf and a fox. They live partly on young birds small mammals, fruit and insects. They are, however, most well known for feeding on carrion, the remains of kills made by other animals. Along with the hyenas, African jackals often follow the lions, finishing off the carcasses of the kills they make.
Jackals also find carrion by following the vultures, another carrion-eating animal.
When the vultures stop circling in the air and swoop to the ground, the jackal races to that spot, knowing the vulture has found food. Many times, a large enough group of vultures, hyenas and jackals can run off a lion, leaving its kill behind to the scavengers. The black backed jackal forms a permanent pair, who hunt together all year. Those jackals who hunt alone do maintain contact, however, by howling to each other mournfully. A jackal can make its den in a variety of places.