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Animal Size

Steller’s sea cow size: How big do they get?

How big does a Steller’s sea cow get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:

A grown Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) reaches an average size of 7.63 meter (25′ 1″).

When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 4000 kg (8818.48 lbs). A Steller’s sea cow has 1 babies at once. The Steller’s sea cow (genus: Hydrodamalis) is a member of the family Dugongidae.

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 average adult size of a Steller's sea cow is (25' 1

Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) is an extinct sirenian described by Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1741. At that time, it was found only around the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia; its range was more extensive during the Pleistocene epoch, and it is possible that the animal and humans previously interacted. Some 18th-century adults would have reached weights of 8–10 t (8.8–11.0 short tons) and lengths up to 9 m (30 ft).It was a part of the order Sirenia and a member of the family Dugongidae, of which its closest living relative, the 3 m (9.8 ft) long dugong (Dugong dugon), is the sole living member. It had a thicker layer of blubber than other members of the order, an adaptation to the cold waters of its environment. Its tail was forked, like that of whales or dugongs. Lacking true teeth, it had an array of white bristles on its upper lip and two keratinous plates within its mouth for chewing. It fed mainly on kelp, and communicated with sighs and snorting sounds. Evidence suggests it was a monogamous and social animal living in small family groups and raising its young, similar to modern sirenians.Steller’s sea cow was named after Georg Wilhelm Steller, who first encountered it on Vitus Bering’s Great Northern Expedition when the crew became shipwrecked on Bering Island. Much of what is known about its behavior comes from Steller’s observations on the island, documented in his posthumous publication On the Beasts of the Sea. Within 27 years of discovery by Europeans, the slow-moving and easily caught mammal was hunted into extinction for its meat, fat, and hide.

Animals of the same family as a Steller’s sea cow

We found other animals of the Dugongidae family:

  • Dugong with a size of 2.55 meter (8′ 5″)

Animals with the same size as a Steller’s sea cow

Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Steller’s sea cow:

Animals with the same litter size as a Steller’s sea cow

Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Steller’s sea cow:

Animals with the same weight as a Steller’s sea cow

As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Hydrodamalis gigas: