Canid in Harenna forest (Ethiopia)
Recently, during a trip to Ethiopia, we saw a group of two animals, exactly like the animal observed by Cocke Smith in 2012. Was discussed the identity of the animal, some people pointed to Canis adustus, Canis adustus ssp. kaffensis, hybrid, etc. …..
The size of the two animals observed was quite large (probably about double in size than Canis adustus, which we have observed on several occasions).
We believe that these animals deserve special attention. They could give us any surprise in the future.
Greetings to all.
Juan Luis Ortega
6 Comments
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vnsankar123
I saw 2 East African Side striped jackals in the montane forest on the Ngorongoro Rim at dawn last August and they looked nothing like this (they were only a bit more furry than regular side striped jackals)… Really not sure what this is!
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vdinets
Whatever it is, I don’t think you can get anywhere without obtaining accurate measurements and tissue samples. Perhaps it’s time to start working on getting life trapping permits?
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juantasugo
Hello.
The animal may have some similarities with side-striped jackal, but its size was much higher.
I’ve been picking up information on side striped jackals in much of the literature available to me, and I have not found a subspecies of Canis adustus substantially larger or with librea clearly differentiated in the subspecies described.
Although we do not rule out any possibility, not convinces us the idea that it is a side striped jackal, apparently as PandaSmith (Coke i imagine) for the comment that he has written.A greeting and thanks
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davide palumbo
Hello,
Very interesting specimens. Really confusing. They look similar in proportions to the asian lineage of C.aureus (except from the tail, which actually reminds C. adustus, although lacking the white spot). The asian jackals, if i remember well, turned out to be genetically distant from the african lineage like, e.g., wolf and coyote. To be added to the discussion, DNA samples attributed to the cryptic C.aureus lupaster (or C. lupus lupaster) have been collected in Ethiopia in two localities.
Greetings and thanks
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PandaSmith
That is definitely the same beast we saw and documented. I am still convinced we have not yet correctly diagnosed this critter’s ID. Glad to see it has once again appeared on the radar.