How big does a Cape ground squirrel get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Cape ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) reaches an average size of 24.7 cm (0′ 10″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 13 years, they grow from 20 grams (0.04 lbs) to 572 grams (1.26 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Cape ground squirrels have 2 babies about 1 times per year. The Cape ground squirrel (genus: Xerus) is a member of the family Sciuridae.
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 Cape ground squirrel or South African ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) is found in most of the drier parts of southern Africa from South Africa, through to Botswana, and into Namibia, including Etosha National Park.The name Cape ground squirrel is somewhat misleading as it actually has a much wider area of habitation. This common name may have been arrived at to distinguish it from a tree squirrel (the eastern grey squirrel) found around Cape Town, which was imported from Europe by Cecil John Rhodes.
Animals of the same family as a Cape ground squirrel
We found other animals of the Sciuridae family:
- Rock squirrel with a size of 27.3 cm (0′ 11″)
- Hodgson’s giant flying squirrel bringing 1.48 kilos (3.26 lbs) to the scale
- Grey-bellied squirrel with a size of 21.1 cm (0′ 9″)
- Bobak marmot with 6 babies per litter
- Wyoming ground squirrel with 5 babies per litter
- Kinabalu squirrel with a size of 20.3 cm (0′ 8″)
- Red-cheeked ground squirrel with 7 babies per litter
- Palmer’s chipmunk with a size of 12.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Southern Palawan tree squirrel with a size of 21 cm (0′ 9″)
- Lady Burton’s rope squirrel with a size of 15.7 cm (0′ 7″)
Animals with the same size as a Cape ground squirrel
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Cape ground squirrel:
- Müller’s giant Sunda rat with a size of 23.9 cm (0′ 10″)
- Eastern small-toothed rat with a size of 24.2 cm (0′ 10″)
- Unstriped ground squirrel with a size of 22.2 cm (0′ 9″)
- Samar squirrel with a size of 21 cm (0′ 9″)
- Jentink’s squirrel with a size of 21 cm (0′ 9″)
- Saharan striped polecat with a size of 24.2 cm (0′ 10″)
- Calabar angwantibo with a size of 24 cm (0′ 10″)
- Common degu with a size of 28 cm (1′ 0″)
- Round-tailed muskrat with a size of 19.9 cm (0′ 8″)
- Japen rat with a size of 21.6 cm (0′ 9″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Cape ground squirrel
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (2) as a Cape ground squirrel:
- Large-scaled mosaic-tailed rat
- Greater Egyptian jerboa
- Crested servaline genet
- Asian particolored bat
- Mexican small-eared shrew
- Binturong
- Gould’s wattled bat
- Marine otter
- Slender rat
- Schlieffen’s bat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Cape ground squirrel
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Cape ground squirrel:
- Crab-eating fox with an average maximal age of 11.5 years
- Gray brocket with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Capybara with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Gray brocket with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Fennec fox with an average maximal age of 14.58 years
- Santarem marmoset with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Banded mongoose with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Weyns’s duiker with an average maximal age of 15.25 years
- Greater dwarf lemur with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Common warthog with an average maximal age of 15 years
Animals with the same weight as a Cape ground squirrel
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Xerus inauris:
- Guadalcanal monkey-faced bat bringing 489 grams to the scale
- Indonesian mountain weasel bringing 466 grams to the scale
- Chiriqui pocket gopher bringing 650 grams to the scale
- Bismarck giant rat bringing 612 grams to the scale
- Banded linsang bringing 684 grams to the scale
- Eastern gray squirrel bringing 546 grams to the scale
- Spermophilus relictus bringing 600 grams to the scale
- Volcano rabbit bringing 465 grams to the scale
- Variable pocket gopher bringing 615 grams to the scale
- Goeldi’s marmoset bringing 558 grams to the scale