LOCAL mountain bikers were pleasantly surprised with a rare sighting of a pair of side-striped jackals on Tuesday on their return trip from the radio tower along the plantation north of Veldenvlei.
Mondi Projects and Construction Coordinator Piet Calitz and his son Dewald, were on an outride when they spotted the elusive animals shortly after 5am.
Piet captured the moment on camera and called it ‘priceless’.
‘They ran ahead of us for about 100 metres.’
According to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, side-striped jackals are unprotected outside reserves in KZN and are not listed in the SA Red Data Book, nor on any CITES list.
Interestingly, they have only been recorded in the coastal lowlands of north-eastern KZN, from the St Lucia mouth northwards to Kosi Bay.
They can also be spotted in the protected areas of Sodwana State Forest, St Lucia, the Eastern Shores of Lake St Lucia and Cape Vidal.
The animal can be identified by its faint white stripes from elbow to hip on both sides of its body and a white tip tail.
It is also slightly larger than the other jackal species.
They are both predators and scavengers and feed on an omnivorous menu of invertebrates, small vertebrates, fruits and seeds.
They also mate for life once they have found their soulmate and have four to six offspring at a time.
