Jackal Pictures

Black-backed jackals are found in two distinct populations, the one restricted to southern Africa, and the other much further north in East Africa, from Tanzania to Ethiopia.

This is the jackal you're most likely to see if you're on safari in countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Namibia in the south of the continent, or in Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa.

Generally though, if you see a jackal while on an African safari, it's much more likely to be the black-backed variety, which is much more common.

There is a third species, the golden or common jackal (Canis aureus) which is found throughout the North and Horn of Africa, but I've never been there so unfortunately have no golden jackal pictures to display.

Black-backed jackals, although mainly nocturnal, can often be sighted during the day in game reserves and national parks, where they are not hunted or in conflict with man, as is the case in farming areas.

Taking Jackal Pictures
So taking jackal pictures, while not always easy, is certainly doable while on safari, particularly if you have a reasonable telephoto lens in the 300mm range.

Jackal pairs form long-term bonds, so it's not unusual to see two black-backed jackals together, although sightings of their pups are more difficult as they keep them safe in a den until they're old enough to venture out with their parents.

In daylight, jackals will usually be found resting in the shade of a tree or shrub, so there is the problem of contrasty light. If you don't expose for the shadows, your subject will be very dark with no details.

So you need to compensate and make sure you are exposing for the shadow area, using a spot meter if necessary.

Using Fill-In Flash
The downside is that the sunlit areas will be over-exposed and blown out. One way of balancing the shadows and brighter areas is to use fill-in flash -- but be careful not to over-do the flash as the resultant photo of your jackal will be over-exposed and can also look very artificial.

To get action pictures of jackals, you need to be near a kill, particularly a lion kill after the big cats have gorged themselves and are lying in the shade nearby. This is the time when the hyenas, vultures, and jackals arrive, eager to grab their share of the remains.

Of course the lions don't much like this, so there's a good chance of some interesting action as the smaller animals try to steal a piece of the carcass and the lions, in turn, are galvanized into action as they chase them off.

In such cases it's good to have your camera all set and ready, preferably set on continuous shooting and follow-focus modes so you can grab pictures of the action as it happens. Usually a zoom lens in the 70-200mm or 70-300mm focal length range will suffice for this type of jackal photography.

See also Jackal Information for more detailed information and facts about the black-backed jackal.

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