How big does a Black-backed jackal get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) reaches an average size of 70.9 cm (2′ 4″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 14 years, they grow from 177 grams (0.39 lbs) to 8.29 kg (18.27 lbs). A Black-backed jackal has 3 babies at once. The Black-backed jackal (genus: Canis) is a member of the family Canidae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas or Lupulella mesomelas) is a canine native to eastern and southern Africa. These regions are separated by roughly 900 kilometers.One region includes the southernmost tip of the continent, including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The other area is along the eastern coastline, including Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. It is listed by the IUCN as least concern, due to its widespread range and adaptability, although it is still persecuted as a livestock predator and rabies vector.Compared to other members of the genus Canis, the black-backed jackal is a very ancient species, and has changed little since the Pleistocene, being the most basal wolf-like canine, alongside the closely related side-striped jackal. It is a fox-like animal with a reddish brown to tan coat and a black saddle that extends from the shoulders to the base of the tail. It is a monogamous animal, whose young may remain with the family to help raise new generations of pups. The black-backed jackal is not a fussy eater, and feeds on small to medium-sized animals, as well as plant matter and human refuse.
Animals of the same family as a Black-backed jackal
We found other animals of the Canidae family:
- Dhole with a size of 98.8 cm (3′ 3″)
- Swift fox with a size of 50.5 cm (1′ 8″)
- Ethiopian wolf with a size of 94.1 cm (3′ 2″)
- Rüppell’s fox with a size of 46 cm (1′ 7″)
- Corsac fox with a size of 58 cm (1′ 11″)
- Hoary fox with a size of 60.3 cm (2′ 0″)
- South American gray fox with a size of 51.9 cm (1′ 9″)
- Pampas fox with a size of 61.9 cm (2′ 1″)
- Bush dog with a size of 62.6 cm (2′ 1″)
- Culpeo with a size of 72 cm (2′ 5″)
Animals with the same size as a Black-backed jackal
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Black-backed jackal:
- Siamang with a size of 82.4 cm (2′ 9″)
- Southern muriqui with a size of 57.8 cm (1′ 11″)
- Capped langur with a size of 57.5 cm (1′ 11″)
- Margay with a size of 60 cm (2′ 0″)
- Proboscis monkey with a size of 64.7 cm (2′ 2″)
- Side-striped jackal with a size of 74.7 cm (2′ 6″)
- Brown dorcopsis with a size of 67.9 cm (2′ 3″)
- Black dorcopsis with a size of 59.2 cm (2′ 0″)
- Aardwolf with a size of 69.7 cm (2′ 4″)
- Lowland paca with a size of 65 cm (2′ 2″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Black-backed jackal
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Black-backed jackal:
- Short-tailed mongoose
- Red rock rat
- Kobe mole
- Desert kangaroo rat
- Fulvous harvest mouse
- Long-nosed dasyure
- Lesser mole-rat
- Hylaeamys megacephalus
- Black-eared mouse
- Juniper vole
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Black-backed jackal
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Black-backed jackal:
- Greater bamboo lemur with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Common bent-wing bat with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Yellow-bellied glider with an average maximal age of 16 years
- Giant eland with an average maximal age of 16.17 years
- Günther’s dik-dik with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Grant’s gazelle with an average maximal age of 12.67 years
- Banded mongoose with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Silver dik-dik with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Coypu with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Australian sea lion with an average maximal age of 16 years
Animals with the same weight as a Black-backed jackal
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Canis mesomelas:
- Yellow-tailed woolly monkey with a weight of 8.27 kilos (18.23 lbs)
- Dusky leaf monkey with a weight of 7.18 kilos (15.83 lbs)
- Red-shanked douc with a weight of 9.48 kilos (20.9 lbs)
- Canada lynx with a weight of 9.73 kilos (21.45 lbs)
- Large Indian civet with a weight of 9.15 kilos (20.17 lbs)
- Assam macaque with a weight of 8.55 kilos (18.85 lbs)
- Red-faced spider monkey with a weight of 8.7 kilos (19.18 lbs)
- Aardwolf with a weight of 8.14 kilos (17.95 lbs)
- Yellow-tailed woolly monkey with a weight of 8.23 kilos (18.14 lbs)
- Tana River red colobus with a weight of 8.07 kilos (17.79 lbs)