golden jackal by Pratim Das

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Thanks Gudrun Stahl Sharpley ...

GOLDEN JACKAL .... WATERCOLOUR ... 7 INCH * 6 INCH ... 2014 ... The golden jackal (Canis aureus), also known as the common jackal, Asiatic jackal or reed wolf is a canid native to north and northeastern Africa, southeastern and central Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, and southeast Asia. It is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern, due to its widespread range in areas with optimum food and shelter. It is a social species, whose basic social unit consists of a breeding pair, followed by its offspring. The golden jackal is highly adaptable, being able to exploit many foodstuffs, from fruit and insects to small ungulates. As of 2005,13 subspecies were recognised but C. l. lupasater has since been recognised as a subspecies of grey wolf. Although similar to a small grey wolf, the golden jackal is distinguished by a lighter tread, a more slender build, a sharper muzzle and a shorter tail. Its winter fur also differs from the wolf's by its more fulvous-reddish colour. Despite its name, the golden jackal is not closely related to black-backed and side-striped jackals, being instead more closely related to the grey wolf, coyote, and Ethiopian wolf.It is capable of producing fertile hybrids with wolves, with hybrid populations having been discovered in Senegal and Bulgaria. The golden jackal features prominently in African, Middle-Eastern and Asian folklore and literature, where it is often portrayed as a trickster analogous to the fox and coyote in European and North American tales, respectively. The golden jackal is an omnivorous and opportunistic forager; its diet varies according to season and habitat. In Bharatpur, India, over 60% of its diet consists of rodents, birds and fruit, while 80% of its diet consists of rodents, reptiles and fruit in Kanha. In the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the golden jackal primarily hunts hares and mouse-like rodents, as well as pheasants, francolins, ducks, coots, moorhens and passerines. Vegetable matter eaten by jackals in these a