Black-backed Jackal

There are no major threats to the species. Black-backed Jackals are persecuted for their role as livestock killers and as rabies vectors (Black-based Jackals are very susceptible to rabies, and are responsible for transmission of the disease to domestic stock). However, population control efforts appear largely ineffective and probably only succeed in producing a temporary reduction in local numbers. In any case, rabies in jackals may be better controlled through oral vaccination techniques, and through immunization of domestic dogs, than by culling (Loveridge and Macdonald 2001).

The species is not included in the CITES Appendices and has no legal protection outside protected areas. It is known to occur in many protected areas throughout its range.

Black-backed Jackals have been maintained in captivity for use in experiments testing rabies vaccine (Bingham et al. 1995), but are otherwise not a common species in conservation breeding programmes.

A large amount of research focusing on the behaviour and ecology of this species has been undertaken, particularly in the last 25 years. In the last decade, however, the emphasis has generally shifted to the role that the animal plays as a vector of rabies, and as a problem animal. The study of Loveridge (1999), for example, directed efforts towards better understanding their role in disease transmission and livestock predation, while ecological, behavioural and other data are gathered concurrently. In many settled areas this species, together with the Caracal Caracal caracal, represent the top predators in many ecosystems, yet their roles are poorly understood.