Using conventional radio‐tracking techniques employed by field ecologists, evidence for scale‐free (fractal) behaviour in the foraging trajectories of a species of African jackal is presented. It is believed that the particular form of foraging strategy observed here is a response by the jackal to its need to locate resources in an unpredictable environment. The methods used in this study are completely general and can be applied to other radio‐tracked species, thus beginning a systematic investigation of foraging strategies in mammals.

Using detailed ¢eld study observations of the side-striped jackal (Canis adustus) and a simple stochastic model of the transmission dynamics of the virus and host demography, we discuss the epidemiology of rabies virus infection in the jackal population of Zimbabwe. Of the two jackal species in Zimbabwe, the other being the black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas), the bulk of noti¢ed rabies cases are in side-striped jackals. Speci¢cally, we show that the side-striped jackal population itself does not seem able to support rabies infection endemically, i.e. without frequent reintroduction from outside sources of infection. We argue that this is probably because the overall average jackal population density is too low to maintain the chain of infection. This study suggests that the disease is regularly introduced to jackals by rabid dogs from populations associated with human settlements. Given the rapidly rising dog population in Zimbabwe, estimates are derived of the future incidence of jackal rabies based on di¡erent dog-vaccination scenarios.

The side-striped jackal (Canis adustus) is a medium-sized canid found throughout much of East and central Africa, excluding the equatorial zone, and extending as far south as Zimbabwe and northeastern South Africa. Between 1990 and 1997, a study of side-striped jackals in Zimbabwe was carried out to determine intraspecific variation between two populations in contrasting environments, and this comparison sheds light on the epidemiology and control of jackal rabies. This chapter presents the results.

In our study area in Zimbabwe, half of the fresh-weight biomass of the diet of side-striped jackals Canis adustus comprised small and medium-sized mammals, and a further third consisted of fruit. Three types of mammal (multimammate mice Mastomys spp., bushveldt gerbil Tatera leucogaster and scrub hare Lepus saxatilus) and four species of fruit (mobola plum Parinari curatellifolia, chocolate berry Vitex payos, wild ®g Ficus natalensis and waterberry Syzigium guineense) dominated these categories. Captive jackals signi®cantly preferred animal prey items to fruits, and these were also the items that contained the highest levels of apparent available energy and organic matter. Wild jackals, however, did not spend more time in the habitats in which mammals were most abundant, nor did they eat more of them during a period of higher prey population density. We conclude that the feeding of jackals is largely geared by searches for fruit, and that mammals are taken opportunistically when they are encountered.

Although the pest status of the European Mole Talpa europaea L. in Britain has never been adequately assessed, it is perceived as being a pest of agricultural and amenity land and is widely persecuted. We review the Mole's pest status, and evaluate current and proposed control methods. While there has been a recent decline in the demand for strychnine, abuse of this poison leads annually to the death of many wild and domestic animals. The need remains for a humane, practical and safe alternative. If strychnine were banned without such an alternative being available, the use of mole‐traps would probably increase. Through post‐mortem examination of trapped Moles we evaluate the humaneness of these traps. Our returned questionnaires showed that, while most farmers perceive Moles as pests, the damage which is attributed to them is slight on the great majority of farms. Control of Moles was none the less common and widespread, and was undertaken by 49.5% of respondents in 1992. Perceived pest status and the favoured method of control varied regionally; these trends may be related to soil quality and cultivation type. Silage pollution was the most widely cited agricultural problem attributed to Moles. Practical measures to reduce silage pollution by Moles are discussed, particularly with regard to silage collection and treatment using bacteriophages. The efficiency of these additives merits detailed study because they have the potential, regardless of whether pollution has occurred or not, to improve the quality of the silage to an extent that killing Moles may be unnecessary; less than 1% of respondents reported that 10% or more of their silage was seriously affected by Mole activity.