How many baby South Asian river dolphins are in a litter?
A South Asian river dolphin (Platanista minor) usually gives birth to around 1 babies.
Each of those little ones spend around 304 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 7 kg (15.43 lbs) and measure 2 cm (0′ 1″). They are a member of the Platanistidae family (genus: Platanista). An adult South Asian river dolphin grows up to a size of 30 cm (1′ 0″).
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 South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is an endangered freshwater or river dolphin found in the region of Indian subcontinent, which is split into two subspecies, the Ganges river dolphin (P. g. gangetica, ~3,500 individuals) and the Indus river dolphin (P. g. minor, ~1,500 individuals). The Ganges river dolphin is primarily found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers and their tributaries in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, while the Indus river dolphin is now found only in the main channel of the Indus River in Pakistan and active channels connected to it between the Jinnah and Kotri barrages, and in the River Beas (a tributary of the Indus) in Punjab in India. From the 1970s until 1998, they were regarded as separate species; however, in 1998, their classification was changed from two separate species to subspecies of a single species (see taxonomy below). The Ganges river dolphin has been recognized by the government of India as its National Aquatic Animal and is the official animal of the Indian city of Guwahati. The Indus river dolphin has been named as the National Mammal of Pakistan.
Other animals of the family Platanistidae
South Asian river dolphin is a member of the Platanistidae, as are these animals:
- La Plata dolphin with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Baiji with 1 babies per pregnancy
- South Asian river dolphin becoming 28 years old
- Amazon river dolphin with 1 babies per pregnancy
Animals that share a litter size with South Asian river dolphin
Those animals also give birth to 1 babies at once:
- Brown greater galago
- Banana pipistrelle
- Leschenault’s rousette
- White-bellied free-tailed bat
- Prince Demidoff’s bushbaby
- Cape horseshoe bat
- Railer bat
- Scaly-tailed possum
- Domestic yak
- Ryukyu flying fox
Animals that get as old as a South Asian river dolphin
Other animals that usually reach the age of 28 years:
- Lion with 30 years
- Daubenton’s bat with 28 years
- Anoa with 22.5 years
- Wolf with 29.5 years
- Patas monkey with 23.83 years
- Drill (animal) with 33.33 years
- Eurasian beaver with 25 years
- Cotton-top tamarin with 23.08 years
- Monk saki with 24.58 years
- North American river otter with 25 years
Animals with the same weight as a South Asian river dolphin
What other animals weight around 75.99 kg (167.54 lbs)?
- Wild boar usually reaching 84.49 kgs (186.27 lbs)
- Kob usually reaching 79.77 kgs (175.86 lbs)
- Snow sheep usually reaching 90 kgs (198.42 lbs)
- Mule deer usually reaching 84.31 kgs (185.87 lbs)
- Nile lechwe usually reaching 85.5 kgs (188.5 lbs)
- Nilgiri tahr usually reaching 73.94 kgs (163.01 lbs)
- Jaguar usually reaching 84.26 kgs (185.76 lbs)
- Ribbon seal usually reaching 90 kgs (198.42 lbs)
- Taruca usually reaching 68.6 kgs (151.24 lbs)
- Javan rusa usually reaching 65.8 kgs (145.06 lbs)