The jackal is a small to medium carnivorous canine, which is found mostly in Africa. However, there is one species of jackal, the Golden Jackal, which resides in some parts of Asia and Europe. While Golden Jackals are more closely related to coyotes, Black-backed Jackals and the Side-stripped Jackals are more closely related to each other. Jackals look very similar to coyotes, and some people even call the coyote the "North American Jackal".

The jackal fills a similar ecological niche as the coyote. They serve as predators, prey, and scavengers in their ecosystem like the coyote. They also have many other similarities to coyotes; Jackals live in mated pairs just like coyotes, and like coyotes, they rarely form large groups. They are crepuscular like coyotes, which mean they prefer to hunt at dusk and dawn. They are also similar to the coyote in their stamina and speed, being able to run for long periods of time, while maintaining speeds of 16 kilometres an hour with ease. One other things jackals and coyotes have in common is their ability to mate and produce offspring with domestic dogs.
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However, jackal and domestic dog hybrids have been shown to have a high percentage of genetic disorders and lack of communication skills within three generations.

Jackals are opportunistic carnivores, which means they will feed on any meat they can find. They will hunt reptiles, small mammals, small birds, and sometimes baby animals such as gazelle or even lion. Jackals have also been known to hunt livestock, particularly goat or sheep. They also will devour carcasses left by other predators, but this sometimes gets them into fights with hyenas. Jackals also play the role of prey to other animals as well. Lions and leopards have been known to kill jackals, but usually this only occurs when jackals have gotten to close to their cubs.
Crocodiles will kill jackals whenever the opportunity occurs. Jackal deaths also occur when they get into fights with wild dogs, as wild dogs run in large packs and jackals do not. However, the largest amount of jackal deaths is caused by hyenas and occurs when fights start over food.

While people in North America have to deal with coyotes, people in Africa deal with jackals. However, like coyotes, jackals are important to their respective ecosystem and are needed in their areas. While Africa does have many different scavengers, the jackal is still an important member of the African