How many baby Indian grey mongooses are in a litter?
A Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii) 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 2.7 kg (5.95 lbs) and measure 1.3 cm (0′ 1″). They are a member of the Herpestidae family (genus: Herpestes). An adult Indian grey mongoose grows up to a size of 40 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:
- Liberian mongoose weighting around 1.82 kilograms (4.01 lbs)
- Namaqua slender mongoose weighting only 750 grams
- Bushy-tailed mongoose with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Egyptian mongoose with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Pousargues’s mongoose with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Selous’s mongoose with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Common dwarf mongoose with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Short-tailed mongoose with 3 babies per pregnancy
- White-tailed mongoose with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Alexander’s kusimanse with 4 babies per pregnancy
Animals that share a litter size with Indian grey mongoose
Those animals also give birth to 2 babies at once:
- Van Deusen’s rat
- Tolai hare
- Cougar
- Congo rope squirrel
- Crested agouti
- Otter civet
- Platypus
- Zempoaltepec
- Brown hyena
- Alston’s brown mouse
Animals with the same weight as a Indian grey mongoose
What other animals weight around 1.31 kg (2.89 lbs)?
- Bristle-spined rat usually reaching 1.3 kgs (2.87 lbs)
- Seven-banded armadillo usually reaching 1.53 kgs (3.37 lbs)
- Angolan talapoin usually reaching 1.25 kgs (2.76 lbs)
- Rufous hare-wallaby usually reaching 1.41 kgs (3.11 lbs)
- Oncilla usually reaching 1.11 kgs (2.45 lbs)
- Boodie usually reaching 1.45 kgs (3.2 lbs)
- Brazilian three-banded armadillo usually reaching 1.49 kgs (3.28 lbs)
- Greater glider usually reaching 1.26 kgs (2.78 lbs)
- Southern viscacha usually reaching 1.54 kgs (3.4 lbs)
- Rothschild’s woolly rat usually reaching 1.16 kgs (2.56 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Indian grey mongoose
Also reaching around 40 cm (1′ 4″) in size do these animals:
- Striped polecat gets as big as 33.5 cm (1′ 2″)
- Eastern barred bandicoot gets as big as 32.3 cm (1′ 1″)
- Lesser grison gets as big as 42.4 cm (1′ 5″)
- Mexican prairie dog gets as big as 34.2 cm (1′ 2″)
- Striped skunk gets as big as 40 cm (1′ 4″)
- Korean hare gets as big as 46.5 cm (1′ 7″)
- Giant otter shrew gets as big as 32 cm (1′ 1″)
- Giant bushy-tailed cloud rat gets as big as 37.1 cm (1′ 3″)
- Cape gray mongoose gets as big as 35 cm (1′ 2″)
- Bronze quoll gets as big as 35.6 cm (1′ 3″)