Categories
Litter Size

How many babies does a Cape gerbil have at once? (litter size)

How many baby Cape gerbils are in a litter?

A Cape gerbil (Gerbilliscus afra) usually gives birth to around 3 babies.With 6 litters per year, that sums up to a yearly offspring of 18 babies.

Each of those little ones spend around 23 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 4 grams (0.01 lbs) and measure 3.6 cm (0′ 2″). They are a member of the Muridae family (genus: Gerbilliscus). An adult Cape gerbil grows up to a size of 15 cm (0′ 6″).

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 Cape gerbil, Gerbilliscus afra, is a species of gerbil found only in South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and temperate desert.

Other animals of the family Muridae

Cape gerbil is a member of the Muridae, as are these animals:

Animals that share a litter size with Cape gerbil

Those animals also give birth to 3 babies at once:

Animals with the same weight as a Cape gerbil

What other animals weight around 92 grams (0.2 lbs)?