How many baby Indian grey mongooses are in a litter?
A Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi) usually gives birth to around 2 babies.With 3 litters per year, that sums up to a yearly offspring of 6 babies.
Each of those little ones spend around 63 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 7 grams (0.02 lbs) and measure 6 cm (0′ 3″). They are a member of the Herpestidae family (genus: Herpestes). An adult Indian grey mongoose grows up to a size of 39.8 cm (1′ 4″).
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 Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi) is a mongoose species native to the Indian subcontinent and West Asia. In North Indian languages (Hindi/Punjabi) it is called Nevlaa. The grey mongoose is commonly found in open forests, scrublands and cultivated fields, often close to human habitation. It lives in burrows, hedgerows and thickets, among groves of trees, and takes shelter under rocks or bushes and even in drains. It is very bold and inquisitive but wary, seldom venturing far from cover. It climbs very well. Usually found singly or in pairs. It preys on rodents, snakes, birds’ eggs and hatchlings, lizards and variety of invertebrates. Along the Chambal River it occasionally feeds on gharial eggs. It breeds throughout the year.
Other animals of the family Herpestidae
Indian grey mongoose is a member of the Herpestidae, as are these animals:
- Ethiopian dwarf mongoose weighting only 485 grams
- Selous’s mongoose with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Jackson’s mongoose weighting around 2.5 kilograms (5.51 lbs)
- Common dwarf mongoose with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Alexander’s kusimanse with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Narrow-striped mongoose with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Stripe-necked mongoose with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Liberian mongoose weighting around 1.82 kilograms (4.01 lbs)
- Pousargues’s mongoose with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Grandidier’s mongoose with 1 babies per pregnancy
Animals that share a litter size with Indian grey mongoose
Those animals also give birth to 2 babies at once:
- Champion’s tree mouse
- Fawn hopping mouse
- Myosorex varius
- Temminck’s striped mouse
- Golden-headed lion tamarin
- Eurasian otter
- Eastern common cuscus
- Mexican vole
- Somali serotine
- Chisel-toothed kangaroo rat
Animals with the same weight as a Indian grey mongoose
What other animals weight around 1.3 kg (2.87 lbs)?
- Telefomin cuscus usually reaching 1.44 kgs (3.17 lbs)
- Hoffmanns’s titi usually reaching 1.07 kgs (2.36 lbs)
- Southern three-banded armadillo usually reaching 1.32 kgs (2.91 lbs)
- Common kusimanse usually reaching 1.39 kgs (3.06 lbs)
- Lake Mackay hare-wallaby usually reaching 1.5 kgs (3.31 lbs)
- Humboldt’s hog-nosed skunk usually reaching 1.1 kgs (2.43 lbs)
- Haussa genet usually reaching 1.4 kgs (3.09 lbs)
- Hainan hare usually reaching 1.52 kgs (3.35 lbs)
- Long-nosed potoroo usually reaching 1.07 kgs (2.36 lbs)
- Chacoan naked-tailed armadillo usually reaching 1.49 kgs (3.28 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Indian grey mongoose
Also reaching around 39.8 cm (1′ 4″) in size do these animals:
- American mink gets as big as 36.6 cm (1′ 3″)
- Menzies’ echymipera gets as big as 34.9 cm (1′ 2″)
- Tufted capuchin gets as big as 42.8 cm (1′ 5″)
- Black lemur gets as big as 39.7 cm (1′ 4″)
- Lesser spot-nosed monkey gets as big as 41 cm (1′ 5″)
- Red-bellied titi gets as big as 35.8 cm (1′ 3″)
- Angolan genet gets as big as 47.3 cm (1′ 7″)
- Cream-coloured giant squirrel gets as big as 34.3 cm (1′ 2″)
- Black flying squirrel gets as big as 38 cm (1′ 3″)
- Steppe polecat gets as big as 43.5 cm (1′ 6″)