It is hard to guess what a Black-backed jackal weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) on average weights 8.29 kg (18.27 lbs).
The Black-backed jackal is from the family Canidae (genus: Canis). It is usually born with about 177 grams (0.39 lbs). They can live for up to 14 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 70.9 cm (2′ 4″). Usually, Black-backed jackals have 3 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
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:
- Pale fox bringing 2.8 kilos (6.17 lbs) to the scale
- Sechuran fox bringing 4.23 kilos (9.33 lbs) to the scale
- Coyote bringing 12 kilos (26.46 lbs) to the scale
- Golden jackal bringing 9.67 kilos (21.32 lbs) to the scale
- Bengal fox bringing 2.51 kilos (5.53 lbs) to the scale
- Culpeo bringing 8.62 kilos (19 lbs) to the scale
- Cape fox bringing 2.92 kilos (6.44 lbs) to the scale
- Crab-eating fox bringing 5.74 kilos (12.65 lbs) to the scale
- Ethiopian wolf bringing 14.38 kilos (31.7 lbs) to the scale
- Kit fox bringing 4.5 kilos (9.92 lbs) to the scale
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:
- Hoolock gibbon with a weight of 6.7 kilos (14.77 lbs)
- Canada lynx with a weight of 9.73 kilos (21.45 lbs)
- Pygmy hog with a weight of 7.92 kilos (17.46 lbs)
- Tonkin snub-nosed monkey with a weight of 9.09 kilos (20.04 lbs)
- Golden jackal with a weight of 9.67 kilos (21.32 lbs)
- Yellow-tailed woolly monkey with a weight of 8.23 kilos (18.14 lbs)
- Thomas’s langur with a weight of 6.69 kilos (14.75 lbs)
- Silvery lutung with a weight of 7.15 kilos (15.76 lbs)
- Pig-tailed langur with a weight of 7.39 kilos (16.29 lbs)
- Western long-beaked echidna with a weight of 8.95 kilos (19.73 lbs)
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:
- Gray snub-nosed monkey with a size of 70.7 cm (2′ 4″)
- Cameroon clawless otter with a size of 83.7 cm (2′ 9″)
- Black dorcopsis with a size of 59.2 cm (2′ 0″)
- Owston’s palm civet with a size of 57.2 cm (1′ 11″)
- Pampas cat with a size of 61.6 cm (2′ 1″)
- Geoffroy’s cat with a size of 57.6 cm (1′ 11″)
- Red-flanked duiker with a size of 65 cm (2′ 2″)
- Andean mountain cat with a size of 60.2 cm (2′ 0″)
- Tibetan sand fox with a size of 60.2 cm (2′ 0″)
- Tayra with a size of 61.4 cm (2′ 1″)
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:
- Lesser mole-rat
- Bolivian big-eared mouse
- Smooth-coated otter
- Blanford’s jerboa
- Long-nosed dasyure
- Masked white-tailed rat
- Xerus erythropus
- Yucatan deer mouse
- Yucatan squirrel
- Cameroon soft-furred mouse
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Black-backed jackal
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Black-backed jackal:
- Zebra duiker with an average maximal age of 12.17 years
- Smooth-coated otter with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Raccoon dog with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Sugar glider with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Rhim gazelle with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Leopard cat with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Common bent-wing bat with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Thylacine with an average maximal age of 13 years
- Sharpe’s grysbok with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Steenbok with an average maximal age of 14 years