How big does a Grandidier’s mongoose get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Grandidier’s mongoose (Galidictis grandidieri) reaches an average size of 35.9 cm (1′ 3″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 1.4 kg (3.09 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Grandidier’s mongooses have 1 babies about 1 times per year. The Grandidier’s mongoose (genus: Galidictis) is a member of the family Herpestidae.
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.
Grandidier’s mongoose (Galidictis grandidieri), also known as the giant-striped mongoose or Grandidier’s vontsira, is a small carnivoran that lives only in a very small area of southwestern Madagascar, in areas of spiny forest vegetation. It is pale brown or grayish coloured, with eight wide, dark stripes on its back and sides. Grandidier’s mongoose is larger than the related broad-striped Malagasy mongoose, G. fasciata, and its stripes are not as wide. The species is named after Alfred Grandidier.This species has been called one of the rarest carnivorans in the world. With a few exceptions, the majority of records of G. grandidieri come from a narrow zone at the western edge of the Mahafaly Plateau in the Parc National de Tsimanampetsotsa, making it the Madagascan carnivore with the smallest range.Nocturnal and crepuscular, this species lives in pairs which produce one offspring a year, in the summer. They hunt primarily by searching through ground litter and in rock crevices. The diet of Grandidier’s mongoose varies markedly between the dry and wet seasons. Whereas food consists mainly of invertebrates throughout the year, small vertebrates are the most important food by biomass, comprising 58% during the dry season and 80% during the wet season. Grandidier’s mongoose weighs 1.1 to 1.3 lb (500 to 600 g).The species is sympatric with two other carnivores, the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) and the introduced Indian civet (Viverricula indica). However, there seems to be virtually no range or dietary overlap between these animals and Grandidier’s mongoose. From sub-fossil evidence, it is clear that the region underwent drastic climatic change during the last 3000–2000 years. It is presumed that the distribution of this mongoose was notably broader and the proportion of prey types different in earlier times than today. Grandidier’s mongoose must have adapted to dryer conditions, which have resulted in its very limited distribution and the exploitation of notably small prey.The animals can be vocal, with a cooing mew, and are described as sociable and playful.
Animals of the same family as a Grandidier’s mongoose
We found other animals of the Herpestidae family:
- Indian grey mongoose with a size of 40 cm (1′ 4″)
- Black-footed mongoose with a size of 61.3 cm (2′ 1″)
- Namaqua slender mongoose with a weight of 750 grams
- Alexander’s kusimanse with a size of 45 cm (1′ 6″)
- Liberian mongoose with a size of 45 cm (1′ 6″)
- Stripe-necked mongoose with a size of 47.8 cm (1′ 7″)
- Jackson’s mongoose bringing 2.5 kilos (5.51 lbs) to the scale
- Ring-tailed vontsira with a size of 35.2 cm (1′ 2″)
- Common dwarf mongoose with a size of 20.2 cm (0′ 8″)
- Yellow mongoose with a size of 29.2 cm (1′ 0″)
Animals with the same size as a Grandidier’s mongoose
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Grandidier’s mongoose:
- Guianan squirrel monkey with a size of 32.2 cm (1′ 1″)
- Long-tailed chinchilla with a size of 30.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- Colombian white-faced capuchin with a size of 37.8 cm (1′ 3″)
- Coppery titi with a size of 35.5 cm (1′ 2″)
- Black-footed ferret with a size of 39.7 cm (1′ 4″)
- Gray-bellied night monkey with a size of 30.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- Eastern cottontail with a size of 37.2 cm (1′ 3″)
- Desert cottontail with a size of 32.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- European rabbit with a size of 40 cm (1′ 4″)
- Columbian ground squirrel with a size of 29.6 cm (1′ 0″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Grandidier’s mongoose
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Grandidier’s mongoose:
- Seychelles fruit bat
- Ring-tailed vontsira
- Yellow-tailed woolly monkey
- Tana River mangabey
- Yellow-bellied brush-furred rat
- Bushveld elephant shrew
- Southern elephant seal
- Complex-toothed flying squirrel
- Townsend’s big-eared bat
- Ground pangolin
Animals with the same weight as a Grandidier’s mongoose
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Galidictis grandidieri:
- Collared titi with a weight of 1.22 kilos (2.69 lbs)
- Northern bettong with a weight of 1.26 kilos (2.78 lbs)
- Greater glider with a weight of 1.26 kilos (2.78 lbs)
- Red acouchi with a weight of 1.25 kilos (2.76 lbs)
- Plush-coated ringtail possum with a weight of 1.12 kilos (2.47 lbs)
- Angolan talapoin with a weight of 1.25 kilos (2.76 lbs)
- Nasuella olivacea with a weight of 1.34 kilos (2.95 lbs)
- Bristle-spined rat with a weight of 1.3 kilos (2.87 lbs)
- Aquatic genet with a weight of 1.65 kilos (3.64 lbs)
- Spotted linsang with a weight of 1.14 kilos (2.51 lbs)