Shane Feller, age 7, of Lancaster, Pa., for his question:

 IS THE JACKAL A SCAVENGER?

For years man has turned up his nose at the jackal and has even used his name as a mild epithet. To be called a jackal was the same as being called a low down sneaky critter. This came about mainly because people didn't know very much about jackals. It was presumed that since they were often found hanging around the kills of other animals, they couldn't hunt for themselves and were purely scavengers. The fact of the matter is that jackals are quite capable of killing their own food and not sneaky at all. True, they do feed on prey brought down by other animals, but then so do lions  and no one calls the lion names.

Scavengers are nature's "street cleaners." They perform an important function by cleaning up what is left from the kills of other animals. The jackal is one of various kinds of animals that offer this service. When not dining on leftovers, however, the jackal eats fruit, insects, birds and small mammals. Most jackals hunt alone or in pairs and seldom group together in large packs. Male and female jackals mate for life and are very devoted to each other and their young.