Side by Side

We were treated to a truly rare sighting of 2 Side Striped Jackals in the final stages of mating yesterday morning, we stumbled upon them looking rather frustrated at being stuck together!


After 5 minutes of snarling at each other they suddenly broke away and ran in opposite directions.

When the dog family mate, the male's penis base (Bulbus glandis) swells during intromission. The female vulval entrance also swells, effectively locking the animals together.

The male will cock a leg over the female's back and they stand back to back until swelling subsides (usually 1 to 2 minutes). We witnessed this for at least 5 minutes, so these 2 were locked for an unusually long time.

This apparently ensures that sperm is transferred effectively in a single mating session! The animals stand back to back to look for danger while they are in this vulnerable position.