Sri Lankan Jackal

There are three species of jackal, one of which is the golden jackal, the only species found outside of Africa. The golden jackal has seven subspecies, one of which is the Sri Lankan jackal, also known as the Southern Indian jackal. It is found in all of Sri Lanka and in the southern part of the Indian Peninsula.

In Udawalawe NP.

Its legs are rusty or a rich tan. Its coat is darker on the back and speckled with white. Its underside has more pigment on the chin, chest, hind throat and belly. 

In Uduwalawe NP. Note the rusty legs and ears and darker back. 

It is more closely related to the gray wolf, dog and coyote than the other two species of jackal. In fact, hybridization occurs between golden jackals and wolves and golden jackals and dogs. 

We saw the Sri Lankan jackal on two occasions. The first was in Minneryia National Park. It was one of the only occasions where I actually spotted an animal that our guide Sanjay did not. It was in some long grass and stopped to stare at us several times when Sanjay made some kind of a chirping noise that got its attention.

In Minneryia NP.

The second occasion was in Udawalawe National Park where we saw a group of them, Sanjay said five and I have photos of three of them together.