Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: How heavy is an adult golden jackal?
The European jackal is the largest of the golden jackals, with animals of both sexes measuring 120–125 cm (47–49 in) in total length and 10–13 kg (20–29 lb) in body weight. One adult male in North-Eastern Italy is recorded to have reached 14.9 kg (33 lb). The fur is coarse, and is generally brightly coloured with blackish tones on the back. The thighs, upper legs, ears and forehead are bright reddish chestnut. Jackals in Northern Dalmatia have broader than average skulls, which is thought to result from human induced isolation from other populations, thus resulting in a new morphotype.
Jackal populations have been increasing in Serbia since the late 1970s, and occur mainly in north-eastern Serbia and lower Srem. Jackals are especially common near Negotin and Bela Palanka (close to the border with Bulgaria), where during the 1990s, about 500 specimens were shot. In Croatia, a 2007 survey reported 19 jackal packs in the north-western part of Ravni kotari and two on Vir Island. Golden jackals are listed as a protected species in Slovenia, where they were first spotted in 1952 and have also established permanent territories there. In 2005, a probably vagrant female was accidentally shot near Gornji Grad in the Upper Savinja Valley, Northern Slovenia. In 2009, two territorial groups of golden jackal were recorded in the Ljubljana Marshes area, Central Slovenia. It seems that the species continues to expand towards Central Europe. Jackal populations in Albania however are on the verge of extinction with possible occurrence in only three lowland wetland locations along the Adriatic Sea.
Social interactions such as greetings, grooming, and group howling are common in jackals. Howling is more frequent between December and April when pair bonds are being formed and breeding occurs, which suggests howling has a role in the delineation of territory and for defense. Adult jackals howl standing and the young or subordinate jackals howl sitting. Jackals are easily induced to howl and a single howl may solicit replies from several jackals in the vicinity. Howling begins with 2–3 low-pitched calls that rise to high-pitched calls. The howl consists of a wail repeated 3–4 times on an ascending scale, followed by three short yelps. Jackals typically howl at dawn and in the evening, and sometimes at midday. Adults may howl to accompany the ringing of church bells, with their young responding to sirens or the whistles of steam engines and boats. Social canids such as golden jackals, wolves, and coyotes respond to human imitations of their howls. When there is a change in the weather, jackals will produce a long and continuous chorus. Dominant canids defend their territories against intruders with either a howl to warn them off, approach and confront them, or howl followed by an approach. Jackals, wolves and coyotes will always approach a source of howling. Golden jackals give a warning call that is very different from their normal howling when they detect the presence of large carnivores such as wolves and tigers.
The Eurasian eagle-owl is a very large bird, smaller than the golden eagle ("Aquila chrysaetos") but larger than the snowy owl, despite some overlap in size with both species. It is sometimes referred to as the world's largest owl, although Blakiston's fish owl ("B. blakistoni") is slightly heavier on average and the much lighter weight great grey owl ("Strix nebulosa") is slightly longer on average. Heimo Mikkola reported the largest specimens of eagle-owl as having the same upper body mass, , as the largest Blakiston’s fish owl and attained a length of around longer. In terms of average weight and wing size, the Blakiston’s is the slightly larger species seemingly, even averaging a bit larger in these aspects than the biggest eagle-owl races from Russia. Also, although shorter than the largest of the latter species, the Eurasian eagle-owl can weigh well more than twice as much as the largest great grey owl. The Eurasian eagle-owl typically has a wingspan of , with the largest specimens possibly attaining . The total length of the species can vary from . Females can weigh from and males can weigh from . In comparison, the barn owl ("Tyto alba"), the world's most widely distributed owl species, weighs about 500 g (1.1 lb) and the great horned owl ("Bubo virginianus"), which fills the eagle-owl's ecological niche in North America, weighs around 1.4 kg (3.1 lb).
Some golden jackals carry diseases and parasites harmful to human health. These include rabies, and Donovan's "Leishmania" that is harmless to jackals but may cause leishmaniasis in people. Jackals in southwestern Tajikistan can carry up to 16 species of parasitic cestodes (flatworm), roundworms, and acanthocephalans (thorny-headed worms), these are: "Sparganum mansoni", "Diphyllobothrium mansonoides", "Taenia hydatigena", "T.pisiformis", "T.ovis", "Hydatigera taeniaeformis", "Dipylidium caninum", "Mesocestoides lineatus", "Ancylostoma caninum", "Uncinaria stenocephala", "Dioctophyma renale", "Toxocara canis", "Toxascaris leonina", "Dracunculus medinensis", "Filariata" and "Macracanthorhynchus catulinum". Jackals infected with "Dracunculus medinensis" can infect bodies of water with their eggs, which cause dracunculiasis in people who drink from them. Jackals may also play a large part in spreading coenurosis in sheep and cattle, and canine distemper in dogs. In Tajikistan, jackals may carry up to 12 tick species (which include "Ixodes", "Rhipicephalus turanicus", "R.leporis", "R.rossicus", "R. sanguineus", "R.pumilio", "R.schulzei", "Hyalomma anatolicum", "H.scupense" and "H.asiaticum"), four flea species ("Pulex irritans", "Xenopsylla nesokiae", "Ctenocephanlides canis" and "C.felis"), and one species of louse ("Trichodectes canis").
Owls, which may have dissimilar periods of activity, are not entirely exempt from golden eagle predation either. Several species have been recorded as prey, especially in Northern Europe, Slovakia (where owls make up 2.4% of prey remains) and some parts of the Western United States. Species hunted have ranged in size from tiny Eurasian pygmy owl ("Glaucidium passerinum") and little owl ("Athene noctua") to the formidable, large great horned, Eurasian eagle and great gray owls ("Strix nebulosa"). Barn owls ("Tyto alba") have been predated by golden eagles in both North America and Eurasia. On Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands, barn owls made up 4.5% of the diet, the largest known occurrence of that species in the eagles' diet. However, the great horned owl is the owl species that occurs most regularly in the diet of North American golden eagles. In Europe, golden eagles are relatively minor predators of owls compared to Eurasian eagle-owls and northern goshawks. The primary owls hunted by European eagles are Ural owls ("Strix uralensis") and short-eared owls ("Asio flammeus"). Few eye-witness accounts are known of owl predation, but one violent mid-day confrontation between a golden eagle and an adult great horned owl was witnessed in Jefferson County, Colorado. Although this owl was about a third of the eagle's weight, it was able to land some damaging blows on the larger bird. In the end, despite its wounds, the eagle was victorious over the dead owl. A case of kleptoparasitism by a golden eagle on a great horned owl has been recorded. Although the Eurasian eagle-owl is preyed upon by golden eagles (4 confirmed cases of golden eagles killing eagle-owls in Europe), in one case a golden eagle (age unspecified) was found amongst the prey in an eagle-owl nest.
Generally speaking, there appears to be rather strictly adhered size hierarchy among birds of prey and the very largest raptorial prey attacked by Eurasian eagle-owl tend to roughly equal to their own size. Larger raptors, such as eagles and vultures, seem to be largely invulnerable to eagle-owls. However, in Scandinavia, there are two cases of eagle-owls preying on “fairly large” nestlings of white-tailed eagles ("Haliaeetus albicilla"). Given the size, average adult weight of , and formidable character of this eagle, it is possible that the young of other raptors larger than themselves may too be attacked. Eastern imperial eagles ("Aquila heliaca"), which are nearly as large as the white-tailed eagle at an average weight of , have been killed by eagle-owls in Kazakhstan. Remarkable, considering the greater threat that the eagle normally poses to the eagle-owl than vica versa, it appeared a golden eagle was amongst the prey remains found around a nest in the French Pyrenees. Cases in Spain where large, formidable birds of prey, the Egyptian vulture ("Neophron percnopterus") and Bonelli's eagle, that are roughly equal in size to the eagle-owls, both weighing just over , have been predated, these seem to be taken from the nest or shortly after independence and rare occurrences. However, in Turkey, the eagle-owl is apparently a regular and serious predator of Bonelli's eagles. The Eurasian eagle-owl predates the largest members of the most species-rich diurnal raptor genera: the northern goshawks from the "Accipiter" genus, the upland buzzards from the "Buteo" genus and the gyrfalcons ("F. rusticolus") of the "Falco" genus. Additional large raptors, i.e. those that can average or more in body mass, taken as prey include osprey ("Pandion haliaetus"), the red kites ("Milvus milvus"), short-toed eagles ("Circaetus gallicus"), the greater spotted eagle ("Clanga clanga"), the lesser spotted eagle ("Clanga pomarina"), and the rough-legged buzzards ("Buteo lagopus") and saker falcons ("Falco cherrug"), in both of which females average more than . The taking of rough-legged buzzards and snowy owls must be confined to full-grown victims, since they nest further north than Eurasian eagle-owls. Eurasian eagle-owls also hunt the smallest raptors available, including those such as lesser kestrels ("Falco naumanni") and Japanese sparrowhawks ("Accipiter gularis") that weigh less than . Some of these are cases of eagle-owls killing nestlings or fledglings but they can easily overtake adult buzzards, goshawks and falcons of any size.
The Harrier is similar to the English Foxhound, but smaller. Harriers stand between 19 and 21 inches at the shoulder, and adults weigh between 45 and 65 lbs. They do shed, have short hair and hanging ears, and come in a variety of color patterns. A humorous, description of a Harrier is that of "a Beagle on steroids" but it resembles an English Foxhound. It is a muscular hunting hound with a small, hard coat. It has large bones for stamina and strength. The Harrier is slightly longer than tall, with a level topline. The tail is medium-length, carried high, but is not curled over the back. The skull is broad with a strong square muzzle. The rounded ears are pendant, and the eyes are either brown or hazel. The wide nose is black. The expression is mellow when the dog is relaxed and alert when he is excited. The teeth should meet in a scissors or level bite. The feet are tight and cat-like, and the front toes may turn inward.
An average adult male measures in length, and stands tall at the shoulder. The largest recorded wild male weighed , and had a hind foot measurement of . A large male Kodiak bear stands up to tall at the shoulder, when it is standing on all four legs. When standing fully upright on its hind legs, a large male could reach a height of . The largest verified size for a captive Kodiak bear was for a specimen that lived at the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota. Nicknamed "Clyde," he weighed when he died in June 1987 at the age of 22. According to zoo director Terry Lincoln, Clyde probably weighed close to a year earlier. He still had a fat layer of when he died.
Yaks are heavily built animals with a bulky frame, sturdy legs, rounded cloven hooves, and extremely dense, long fur that hangs down lower than the belly. While wild yaks are generally dark, blackish to brown in colouration, domestic yaks can be quite variable in colour, often having patches of rusty brown and cream. They have small ears and a wide forehead, with smooth horns that are generally dark in colour. In males (bulls), the horns sweep out from the sides of the head, and then curve forward. They typically range from in length. The horns of females (cows) are smaller, only in length, and have a more upright shape. Both sexes have a short neck with a pronounced hump over the shoulders, although this is larger and more visible in males. Males weigh , females weigh . Wild yaks can be substantially heavier, bulls reaching weights of up to . Depending on the breed, domestic yak males are high at the withers, while females are high at the withers.
Common ostriches usually weigh from , or as much as two adult humans. The Masai ostriches of East Africa ("S. c. massaicus") averaged in males and in females, while the nominate subspecies, the North African ostrich ("S. c. camelus"), was found to average in unsexed adults. Exceptional male ostriches (in the nominate subspecies) can weigh up to . At sexual maturity (two to four years), male common ostriches can be from in height, while female common ostriches range from tall. New chicks are fawn in colour, with dark brown spots. During the first year of life, chicks grow at about per month. At one year of age, common ostriches weigh approximately . Their lifespan is up to 40–45 years.
It is a very large bear, the largest in Eurasia, with a body length of 2.4 meters, to 3 meters tall on hind legs and a weight up to 650 kg (1433 lbs). It is nearly the size of the Kodiak bear; however, the skull is broader than that of the Ussuri brown bear, and compared to that of the Kodiak bear, the breadth of the skull is much greater in proportion to its length, the anterior narial opening is much shorter, and the molars differ in relative size and form. The greatest skull length for males is 40.3–43.6 cm and 25.8–27.7 cm wide, while the skulls of females measure 37.2–38.6 cm in length and 21.6–24.2 cm in width. Fur colour is predominantly dark brown with a violet tint. Light coloured individuals are rarely encountered.
The largest Indian elephant was high at the shoulder. In 1985, two large elephant bulls were spotted for the first time in Bardia National Park, and named "Raja Gaj" and "Kanchha". They roamed the park area together and occasionally visited female herds. "Raja Gaj" stood tall at the shoulder and had a massive body weight. His forehead and domes were more prominent than in other Asian bull elephants. His appearance has been compared to that of a Stegodon and mammoth due to his high bi-domed shaped head.
A fully-grown "Smilodon" weighed approximately and had a short tail, powerful legs, and a large head. The cats have two huge canine teeth, about long, that are used to kill prey by suffocation. The jaws could open to about 120 degrees in order to use these fangs to deadly effect. They would die out due to climate change.
The Eurasian eagle-owl ("Bubo bubo") is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the European eagle-owl and in Europe, it is occasionally abbreviated to just eagle-owl. It is one of the largest species of owl, and females can grow to a total length of 75 cm (30 in), with a wingspan of 188 cm (6 ft 2 in), males being slightly smaller. This bird has distinctive ear tufts, with upper parts that are mottled with darker blackish colouring and tawny. The wings and tail are barred. The underparts are a variably hued buff, streaked with darker colour. The facial disc is poorly developed and the orange eyes are distinctive.
The largest living reptile, a representative of the order Crocodilia, is the saltwater crocodile ("Crocodylus porosus") of Southern Asia and Australia, with adult males being typically long. The largest confirmed saltwater crocodile on record was long, and weighed about . Unconfirmed reports of much larger crocodiles exist, but examinations of incomplete remains have never suggested a length greater than . A living specimen estimated at and has been accepted by the Guinness Book of World Records, but due to the difficulty of trapping and measuring a very large living crocodile, the accuracy of these dimensions has yet to be verified. A specimen caught alive in the Philippines in 2011 (now dead) was found to have measured in length.
The yellow-billed oxpecker eats insects and ticks. Both the English and scientific names arise from this species' habit of perching on large wild and domesticated mammals such as cattle and eating arthropod parasites. It will also perch on antelopes such as wildebeest. In a day an adult will take more than 100 engorged female "Boophilus decoloratus" ticks or 13,000 larvae.
Bustards are all fairly large with the two largest species, the kori bustard ("Ardeotis kori") and the great bustard ("Otis tarda"), being frequently cited as the world's heaviest flying birds. In both the largest species, large males exceed a weight of , weigh around on average and can attain a total length of . The smallest species is the little brown bustard ("Eupodotis humilis"), which is around long and weighs around on average. In most bustards, males are substantially larger than females, often about 30% longer and sometimes more than twice the weight. They are among the most sexually dimorphic groups of birds. In only the floricans is the sexual dimorphism reverse, with the adult female being slightly larger and heavier than the male.
A giant dog breed has no universal height or weight classification, although some groups define "giant breeds" as those heavier than . Giant breeds grow rapidly, but take longer to mature into their full adult sizes than smaller dogs.
Black wildebeest are sexually dimorphic, with females being smaller in size and more slender than males. The head-and-body length is typically between . Males reach about at the shoulder, while females reach . Males typically weigh and females . A distinguishing feature in both sexes is the tail, which is long and similar to that of a horse. Its bright-white colour gives this animal the vernacular name of "white-tailed gnu", and also distinguishes it from the blue wildebeest, which has a black tail. The length of the tail ranges from .
Both species of wildebeest are even-toed, horned, greyish-brown ungulates resembling cattle. Males are larger than females and both have heavy forequarters compared to their hindquarters. They have broad muzzles, Roman noses, and shaggy manes and tails. The most striking morphological differences between the black and blue wildebeest are the orientation and curvature of their horns and the color of their coats. The blue wildebeest is the bigger of the two species. In males, blue wildebeest stand 150 cm tall at the shoulder and weigh around 250 kg, while the black wildebeest stands 111 to 120 cm tall and weighs about 180 kg. In females, blue wildebeest have a shoulder height of 135 cm and weigh 180 kg while black wildebeest females stand 108 cm at the shoulder and weigh 155 kg. The horns of blue wildebeest protrude to the side, then curve downwards before curving up back towards the skull, while the horns of the black wildebeest curve forward then downward before curving upwards at the tips. Blue wildebeest tend to be a dark grey color with stripes, but may have a bluish sheen. The black wildebeest has brown-coloured hair, with a mane that ranges in color from cream to black, and a cream-coloured tail. The blue wildebeest lives in a wide variety of habitats, including woodlands and grasslands, while the black wildebeest tends to reside exclusively in open grassland areas. In some areas, the blue wildebeest migrates over long distances in the winter, whereas the black wildebeest does not. The milk of the female black wildebeest contains a higher protein, lower fat, and lower lactose content than the milk of the blue wildebeest. Wildebeest can live more than 40 years, though their average lifespan is around 20 years.
In Russia and the other nations of the former Soviet Union, golden jackals are considered furbearers of low quality because of their sparse, coarse, and monotonously colored fur. Jackal hairs have very little fur fiber; therefore, their pelts have a flat appearance. The jackals of Asia and the Middle East produce the coarsest pelts, though this can be remedied during the dressing process. Elburz in northern Iran produces the softest furs. Jackal skins are not graded to a fur standard, and are made into collars, women's coats, and fur coats. During the 1880s, 200 jackals were captured annually in Mervsk and in the Zakatal area of the Transcaucasus, with 300 jackals being captured there during 1896. In this same period, a total of 10,000 jackals were taken within Russia and their furs sent exclusively to the Nizhegorod fair. In the early 1930s there were 20,000–25,000 jackal skins tanned annually in the Soviet Union, but these could not be utilized within the country, and so the majority were exported to the United States. Commencing from 1949, they were all used within the Soviet Union.
Results from two recent studies of mDNA from golden jackals indicate that the specimens from Africa are genetically closer to the gray wolf than are the specimens from Eurasia. In 2015 a major DNA study of golden jackals concluded that the six "C.aureus" subspecies found in Africa should be reclassified under the new species "C.anthus" (African golden wolf), reducing the number of golden jackal subspecies to seven. The phylogenetic tree generated from this study shows the golden jackal diverging from the wolf/coyote lineage 1.9million years ago and the African golden wolf diverging 1.3million years ago. The study found that the golden jackal and the African golden wolf shared a very similar skull and body morphology and that this had confused taxonomists into regarding these as one species. The study proposes that the very similar skull and body morphology is due to both species having originated from a larger common ancestor.
Golden jackals exhibit flexible social organization depending on the availability of food. The breeding pair is the basic social unit, and they are sometimes accompanied by their current litter of pups. In India, their distributions are a single jackal, 31%, two jackals, 35%, three jackals, 14%, and more than three jackals, 20%. Family groups of up to 4–5 individuals have been recorded. Scent marking through urination and defecation is common around golden jackal den areas and on the trails they most often use. Scent marking is thought to assist in territorial defense. The hunting ranges of several jackals can overlap. Jackals can travel up to during a single night in search of either food or more suitable habitat. Non-breeding members of a pack may stay near a distant food source, such as a carcass, for up to several days before returning to their home range. Home range sizes can vary between , depending on the available food.
The golden jackal often hunts alone, and sometimes in pairs, but rarely hunts in a pack. When hunting alone, it trots around an area and occasionally stops to sniff and listen. Once prey is located, the jackal conceals itself, quickly approaches its prey and then pounces on it. Single jackals hunt rodents, hares, and birds. They hunt rodents in grass by locating them with their hearing before leaping into the air and pouncing on them. In India, they can dig Indian gerbils out from their burrows, and they can hunt young, old, and infirm ungulates up to 4–5 times their body weight. Jackals search for hiding blackbuck calves throughout the day during the calving period. The peak times for their searches are the early morning and the late evening. When hunting in pairs or packs, jackals run parallel to their prey and overtake it in unison. When hunting aquatic rodents or birds, they will run along both sides of narrow rivers or streams and drive their prey from one jackal to another.