Two black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) scamper along, eyeing our vehicle and turning to face each other before quickly ducking behind a bush. Jackals are monogamous and often travel in pairs. Sometimes they are accompanied by their pup. Adults will regularly patrol their territory, and we saw these two individuals roaming in the same location for two consecutive days. Jackals are opportunistic hunters and have a varied omnivorous diet. They forage on arthropods, berries, and carrion, but are also extremely capable micro-hunters in the African land of giants, regularly hunting small mammals and even occasionally taking down antelopes that dwarf their own body size.
06/15/2019: Another black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) stretches lazily in the late afternoon while out solo in an open field. We usually find jackals in pairs jogging around attentively, but this individual was clearly in relaxation mode, at first refusing to run away from our vehicle. Eventually it stood up slowly, scratched its left ear with one of its hindlegs much like a rabbit, and stretched out with a quiver before trotting away.