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How much weight hawks can carry?

by Karen Steinfield
July 12, 2021
in Animals
Home Animals
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Hawks and other raptors are impressive predators. Their eyesight is 4 to 8 times better than humans, and many of these species are adapted for fast, quiet flight to help them attack their victims. Additionally, they also have those talons to grab their victim.

There’s one question that comes in everyone’s mind when they hear about hawks, i.e., how much weight they can carry?

After all, these raptors get their food by grabbing small animals from the grounds. And hawks can’t kidnap a full-grown German Shepherd, but you might have heard people say hawks can lift a little dog, cat, or even a human child. You all must be wondering, is it true? Today, we’ll answer all your questions, so let’s get started.

How much weight hawks can carry while flying?

It entirely depends on the bird and the potential target, but while it is the risk for smaller pets but generally, it’s safe to say that this is an improbable scenario.

There are many hoaxes about hawks kidnapping 12-pounds (5kg) pets, and some other hoaxes like eagles stealing human kids, but they aren’t real.

The reason for that is Hawks and owls can’t fly with the victim that is more than their weight. The weight of even big dangerous raptors like great-horned owls and red-tailed hawks is generally about 3 pounds (i.e., 1.3 kg) and 2 pounds (1 kg). These raptors are unable to kidnap most big cats and dogs.

Great horned owls and red-tailed hawks are two of America’s most common and widely known raptors. Red-tailed hawks mostly eat small mammals like rabbits, rodents, birds, and snakes, and they do not consider eating most of the pets. That being said, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, some more significant and much bigger red-tailed hawks might be able to carry victims weighing around 5 pounds, which could include not only puppies or kittens but also some of the small breeds of adult dogs and cats.

Great horned owls eat small mammals and birds for food, but they are known to have a diverse mixed diet among any American raptor, including likes of larger animals such as ducks, shucks, and even other raptors. Though they don’t pose a threat to pets, there are some cases where they have attacked house chickens and cats left outside during the night. Even then, there are scarce chances of them kidnapping pets. Additionally, you can reduce this risk by keeping cats and chickens inside the house during the night.

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Final words

So, coming back to the question of whether how much weight hawks can carry while flying, though there is no exact figure for that, it’s undoubtedly less than their weight.

There are no chances that a hawk will kidnap your pet, but it can surely harm your pet; it’s better to keep your pets safe and sound inside the house. Additionally, don’t let them go outside alone if you live in an area where there are hawks.

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