How many baby Dugongs are in a litter?
A Dugong (Dugong dugon) usually gives birth to around 1 babies.
Each of those little ones spend around 372 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 23.48 kg (51.76 lbs) and measure 1.1 meter (3′ 8″). They are a member of the Dugongidae family (genus: Dugong). An adult Dugong grows up to a size of 2.55 meter (8′ 5″).
To have a reference: Humans obviously usually have a litter size of one ;). Their babies are in the womb of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks) and reach an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). They weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual, and reach an average age of 75 years.
The dugong (; Dugong dugon) is a medium-sized marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. The dugong is the only strictly herbivorous marine mammal.The dugong is the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of some 40 countries and territories throughout the Indo-West Pacific. The dugong is largely dependent on seagrass communities for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats which support seagrass meadows, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands and inter-reefal waters. The northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay are believed to be the dugong’s contemporary stronghold.Like all modern sirenians, the dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fin or hind limbs. The forelimbs or flippers are paddle-like. The dugong is easily distinguished from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail, but also possesses a unique skull and teeth. Its snout is sharply downturned, an adaptation for feeding in benthic seagrass communities. The molar teeth are simple and peg-like unlike the more elaborate molar dentition of manatees.The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years for its meat and oil. Traditional hunting still has great cultural significance in several countries in its modern range, particularly northern Australia and the Pacific Islands. The dugong’s current distribution is fragmented, and many populations are believed to be close to extinction. The IUCN lists the dugong as a species vulnerable to extinction, while the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species limits or bans the trade of derived products. Despite being legally protected in many countries, the main causes of population decline remain anthropogenic and include fishing-related fatalities, habitat degradation and hunting. With its long lifespan of 70 years or more, and slow rate of reproduction, the dugong is especially vulnerable to extinction.
Other animals of the family Dugongidae
Dugong is a member of the Dugongidae, as are these animals:
- Steller’s sea cow with 1 babies per pregnancy
Animals that share a litter size with Dugong
Those animals also give birth to 1 babies at once:
- Banana pipistrelle
- Red goral
- Black-spotted cuscus
- Killer whale
- Allied rock-wallaby
- Yellow-bellied glider
- Eastern falanouc
- Southern viscacha
- Natal long-fingered bat
- Pel’s pouched bat
Animals that get as old as a Dugong
Other animals that usually reach the age of 70 years:
- African bush elephant with 80 years
- Gray whale with 77 years
- Sei whale with 74 years
- Chimpanzee with 60 years
- Baikal seal with 56 years
- Berardius with 71 years
- Asian elephant with 80 years
- Bryde’s whale with 72 years
- Horse with 62 years
- Bornean orangutan with 60 years
Animals with the same weight as a Dugong
What other animals weight around 295 kg (650.36 lbs)?
- Muskox usually reaching 312.67 kgs (689.32 lbs)
- Bearded seal usually reaching 280 kgs (617.29 lbs)
- New Zealand sea lion usually reaching 273.67 kgs (603.34 lbs)
- Takin usually reaching 292.76 kgs (645.42 lbs)
- Burchell’s zebra usually reaching 278.08 kgs (613.06 lbs)
- Leopard seal usually reaching 352.84 kgs (777.88 lbs)
- Hooded seal usually reaching 278.95 kgs (614.98 lbs)
- Common bottlenose dolphin usually reaching 281.02 kgs (619.54 lbs)
- Baird’s tapir usually reaching 292.39 kgs (644.61 lbs)
- Kiang usually reaching 280.57 kgs (618.55 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Dugong
Also reaching around 2.55 meter (8′ 5″) in size do these animals:
- Giant eland gets as big as 2.52 meter (8′ 4″)
- Pacific white-sided dolphin gets as big as 2.21 meter (7′ 3″)
- Grévy’s zebra gets as big as 2.7 meter (8′ 11″)
- Red deer gets as big as 2.14 meter (7′ 1″)
- Moose gets as big as 2.1 meter (6′ 11″)
- Grey seal gets as big as 2.08 meter (6′ 10″)
- Spinner dolphin gets as big as 2.13 meter (7′ 0″)
- South American sea lion gets as big as 2.12 meter (7′ 0″)
- European bison gets as big as 2.9 meter (9′ 7″)
- Crabeater seal gets as big as 2.27 meter (7′ 6″)