Watch The Sighting Here:
Seeing the altercation, Dian Swanepoel recorded the incident and sent his account to Latest Sightings. He filmed it at Kubu Dam in the Pilanesberg National Park.
Play-Fighting
As Dian’s video begins, two young elephants splash and spray each other playfully at the water’s edge. However, as he watched, he noticed a more serious battle underway.
His camera pans and then settles on a peculiar sight. A black-backed jackal had entered the shallows and caught a marabou stork.
Fight To The Death
Compared to the playful elephant sparring, it was immediately obvious that this was a life-or-death battle for the stork. It was also clear that the bird was at a serious disadvantage.
Although the stork flapped frantically, it did not affect the jackal. With its jaws clamped around the stork’s neck, the jackal twisted the bird into an awkward position, leaving it with no leverage.
Back On Land
With relative ease, the jackal managed to pull the bird out of the water. A short while later, the stork lost its footing, and it looked like it was all over.
Then, the stork seemed to get a second wind. Still flapping, it managed to get up onto its feet. However, the jackal showed no signs of letting go.
Although the two creatures are of a similar weight, the jackal’s low centre of gravity helped it control its victim. Forced into an awkward bow, the stork could only follow as it was led to its fate.
Fading Fast
Not built for this sort of punishment, the stork soon tired and, once more, fell to the ground.
Having subdued its prey, the jackal dragged the limp body some distance. At this point, it began to look like the bird was dead.
Meanwhile, the jackal wagged its tail frantically, clearly excited at the success of its unusual attack. After all the action, the jackal paused to catch its breath.
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Flutter Of Life
After a while, the jackal was ready to start feeding. However, as it bit into the stork’s lower abdomen, it turned out that the stork was still alive, albeit only just.
Flapping its wings weakly, it seems these were the unfortunate bird’s death throes. Soon after, the wings again fell limp. Now the jackal was free to feast.
Jackal Of All Trades
Of the two jackal species found in South Africa, the black-backed jackal is far more common than the side-striped jackal.
Many people consider them to be scavengers, but strictly speaking, they are omnivores with a catholic diet. This means they eat a wide variety of food, ranging from the occasional fruits to insects, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, birds, and carrion.
Highly intelligent, they often develop specialised hunting techniques, like the renowned jackals of the Kgalagadi National Park that target doves with remarkable precision.
Although they are common, they are quite heavily persecuted by humans. They have a bad reputation amongst farmers as stock killers.
Additionally, they are recognised rabies vectors and known to carry a host of other diseases, like anthrax, canine distemper, and African horse sickness.
Nevertheless, they play a vital ecological role, removing animal remains and recycling waste into the soil.