General Characteristics

Head to body Length  : 100 cm (39 inches)

Tail Length : 33 cm. (13 inches)

Shoulder Height : 58 cm ( 23 inches )

Weight : 11.2-19 kg ( 24-42 lbs)

Description  

 The Jackal has long legs and a long muzzle, resembling a coyote in conformation and size. It has an elongated skull with a slender protracted nose and small and widely spaced teeth, especially the premolars. The adult pelage is soft and short, of a distinctive bright tawny rufous color with a dense whitish to page ginger under fur. The coat is lighter in juveniles, and turns to yellowish in females in during the breeding season.

The throat, chest, a band around the ventral part of the neck, the underparts and inside of limbs are white, with the outline between the red coat and the white markings sharp and well defined. The ears are pointed and broad, their dorsal surface red fringed with long white hairs growing inward from the edge. The tail is a thick black brush with the proximal third white underneath.

Range  

The Ethiopian wolf has a very restricted range. It is found only in six or seven mountain ranges of Ethiopia. This includes the Arssi and Bale mountains of southeast Ethiopia, the Simien mountains, northeast Shoa, Gojjam, and Mt. Guna (Ginsberg and Macdonald 1990). The largest population exists in the Bale Mountains National Park with 120-160 individuals

Habitat - They are found in Afro-alpine grasslands and heathlands where vegetation is less than 0.25 m high. It lives at altitudes of 3000-4400 m

Diet - generally preying on rodents ranging in size from the giant mole-rat to that of the common grass rats, eats goslings, eggs, and young ungulates (reedbuck and mountain nyla) and occasionally scavenges carcasses.

Status -  There used to be 10,000 remaining . Now there are Fewer than 500 Simien jackals remaining in the world

Reason for the status - Habitat loss, Fragmentation, Human factors such as Overgrazing, Persecution , Warfare, Road kills and Domestic Dogs like for instance competition

What kind of animal is it - Carnivore - Social - nocturnal

Gestation : 60-62 days

Longevity : 8-9 years

Simien Jackal also known as European Wolf