"
Black-backed jackal family


Family life
Mating pairs form at about three years of age, stay together for life and are territorial (males expel males and females expel females).
Litter usually consists of three to six pups, which are born in undergound dens. Both parents bring food for the pups. At
first this is carried in the stomach and regurgitated, as the pups mature it is carried in the mouth.
Yearling may stay in teh territory and 'help' to raise the next litter, however, this helping does actually not always improve the survival of the pups.
Pups start leaving the den after three weeks and become independent at six to eight months. The pups become increasingly quarrelsome as they age, and establish more rigid dominance hierarchies. Dominant cubs will appropriate food, and become independent at an earlier age.