Cropland canids 1: The Jackal

Two canids are commonly seen in Uttar Pradesh's croplands - the Jackal and the Fox - and the third, the Wolf, is rather rare. Here, the Jackal is captured in a common crop - wheat (top and middle photo), and in the not-so-common amaranth. Jackals in Uttar Pradesh are run down by dogs all the time - one ran into the side of my jeep when it was being chased by village dogs, picked itself up, and disappeared into the wheat. Roadkills due to traffic are common on roads - I will spare you gory pictures of one here, and show you one later of the Indian Fox.

The Jackal appears to be doing quite alright in the cropped areas of UP - how this can be given the growing number of dogs, the lack of natural habitat, and apparent low amount of food is a mystery worth exploring.

(Photo details: Top - Jackal beside ripening wheat in Aligarh district, Mar 26, 2009; middle - Jackal hiding from dogs in growing wheat in Etah district, Jan 12, 2009; bottom - Jackal in red gram fields in Barabanki district, Nov 21, 2008.)