Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas). This scavenger feeds on the carrion left after a larger predator has made a kill. It inhabits the grasslands, plains and south-western deserts of Africa. Its diverse diet includes small mammals, eggs, birds, insects, reptiles and some fruits. The black-backed jackal is a social animal and possesses superb vision. African tales ascribe fox-like cunning to this animal. Photographed in the Northern Cape, South Africa, in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.