How many baby Columbian ground squirrels are in a litter?
A Columbian ground squirrel (Spermophilus columbianus) usually gives birth to around 3 babies.With 1 litters per year, that sums up to a yearly offspring of 3 babies.
Each of those little ones spend around 24 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 9 grams (0.02 lbs) and measure 5.6 cm (0′ 3″). They are a member of the Sciuridae family (genus: Spermophilus). An adult Columbian ground squirrel grows up to a size of 29.6 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 Columbian ground squirrel (Urocitellus columbianus) is a species of rodent common in certain regions of Canada and the northwestern United States. It is the second largest member of the genus Urocitellus, which is part of the tribe Marmotini, along with marmots, chipmunks, prairie dogs, and other holarctic ground squirrels. They are stout, with short dense fur, which is characteristically tawny across the bridge of the nose. Social encounters often are initiated with kissing behavior and the most common activity above ground is standing at attention. Residing in mountainous terrain and high plains in northern latitudes, they hibernate most of the year in burrows, which may be used for many years. They are emaciated when emerging in the spring. These long periods of torpor earned the squirrels the moniker “Seven Sleepers”, since the rests last around seven months. The Columbian ground squirrel came to the attention of the scientific community through writings produced by Lewis and Clark, while 21st century molecular genetics has more finely illuminated its ties with other close relatives.
Other animals of the family Sciuridae
Columbian ground squirrel is a member of the Sciuridae, as are these animals:
- Unstriped ground squirrel with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Gray marmot with 5 babies per pregnancy
- Least chipmunk with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Central American dwarf squirrel weighting only 87 grams
- Uinta chipmunk with 6 babies per pregnancy
- Yucatan squirrel with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Plantain squirrel with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Red-cheeked flying squirrel weighting only 118 grams
- Allen’s squirrel with 3 babies per pregnancy
- California ground squirrel with 6 babies per pregnancy
Animals that share a litter size with Columbian ground squirrel
Those animals also give birth to 3 babies at once:
- Abrothrix longipilis
- Indian hairy-footed gerbil
- Hairy harvest mouse
- Singing vole
- Lesser dwarf shrew
- Cape golden mole
- Broad-striped dasyure
- Vancouver Island marmot
- California chipmunk
- Brush mouse
Animals with the same weight as a Columbian ground squirrel
What other animals weight around 471 grams (1.04 lbs)?
- Allegheny woodrat weighting 447 grams
- Weyland ringtail possum weighting 458 grams
- Long-tailed armored tree-rat weighting 439 grams
- Southern tuco-tuco weighting 403 grams
- Guadalcanal monkey-faced bat weighting 489 grams
- Cotton-top tamarin weighting 463 grams
- Golden-mantled tamarin weighting 385 grams
- Guayaquil squirrel weighting 433 grams
- Big pocket gopher weighting 499 grams
- European ground squirrel weighting 396 grams
Animals with the same size as a Columbian ground squirrel
Also reaching around 29.6 cm (1′ 0″) in size do these animals:
- Brazilian three-banded armadillo gets as big as 30 cm (1′ 0″)
- Hispaniolan hutia gets as big as 30 cm (1′ 0″)
- Ilin Island cloudrunner gets as big as 25.3 cm (0′ 10″)
- Arizona gray squirrel gets as big as 26.4 cm (0′ 11″)
- Common degu gets as big as 28 cm (1′ 0″)
- Isabel naked-tailed rat gets as big as 27 cm (0′ 11″)
- Great Key Island giant rat gets as big as 27.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Livingstone’s fruit bat gets as big as 34 cm (1′ 2″)
- Back-striped weasel gets as big as 28.7 cm (1′ 0″)
- Northern viscacha gets as big as 34.2 cm (1′ 2″)