A jackal was spotted on Thursday, running into Greymont Park in Northcliff, Joburg.
It is not clear if this is the same jackal seen by residents of Boskruin last week, or if there are in fact 2 Jackals in the North.
This is not the first time Jackals were seen in Joburg, an 8 – month old male was spotted in Roodepoort (report by Good Things Guy), and a Black Backed Jackal in Delta Park.
There is even a WhatsApp group, started by Wild Serve for residents of Roodepoort and Northcliff to join efforts to assist in the welfare and conservation of Black-Backed Jackal population.
Wild Serve is a licensed regional specialist.
Black-Backed Jackals are listed as species of Least Concern, on the South African National Biodiversity Institute’s Red List of South Africa’s species.
This is due to their increase in size, in the last 15 years, to an estimated 10,000 individuals in Johannesburg.
In addition, research by Ferguson and Minnie between 1983 and 2016, found their range is in Southern Africa, and there is no reason to believe trans regional and trans boundary movements will decrease.
Black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) feed on anything, including carcasses left behind by larger predators, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, termites, millipedes, spiders, scorpions, rodents, hares, young antelopes, ground-dwelling birds, bird eggs, lizards, snakes, berries, fruit, rizomes, grass and other plant materials.
There are three species of Jackal in Africa: the Common or Golden Jackal (Canis aureus), found in East and North Africa, Black-Backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas) and Side-striped (Canis adustus), that are endemic to the African continent.
Picture: Suburban Control Centre