JACKAL, wolflike carnivore of the dog genus Canis, family Canidae, sharing with the hyenas an exaggerated reputation for cowardice.
Jackals inhabit more or less open country. Nocturnal animals, they usually conceal themselves by day in brush or thickets and sally forth at dusk to hunt. They live alone, in pairs, or in packs and feed on whatever small animals, plant material, or carrion is available. They follow lions and other large cats in order to finish a carcass when the larger animal has eaten its fill, and when hunting in packs they are able to bring down prey as large as antelopes and sheep.
Like other members of the genus, jackals sing at evening; their cry is more dismaying than that of the hyena.
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica