How many baby Menzbier’s marmots are in a litter?
A Menzbier’s marmot (Marmota menzbieri) usually gives birth to around 2 babies.
Upon birth, they weight 29 grams (0.06 lbs) and measure 11.1 cm (0′ 5″). They are a member of the Sciuridae family (genus: Marmota). An adult Menzbier’s marmot grows up to a size of 45 cm (1′ 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 Menzbier’s marmot (Marmota menzbieri) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae from Central Asia. It inhabits meadows and steppe at altitudes of 2,000–3,600 m (6,600–11,800 ft) in the western Tien Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and far northern Tajikistan. It has the smallest range among the Palearctic species of marmot and tends to occur in low densities, with a population estimate in 1998 indicating that there were a total of 22,000 individuals and an estimate in 2005 indicating that there were 20,000–25,000 individuals in Kazakhstan alone. The IUCN considers it vulnerable with the main threat being habitat loss from expanding agriculture and a smaller threat being hunting for food. Locally, its range comes into contact with that of the long-tailed marmot (M. caudata) and the two form a species group, but they segregate by habitat, with the Menzbier’s marmot preferring wetter areas at a higher altitude and with shorter grass.It is the smallest Palearctic species of marmot with a head-and-body length if 34.5–50 cm (13.6–19.7 in) and a weight of 1.85–5 kg (4.1–11.0 lb). It is a relatively short-tailed species with a long and dense fur. Uniquely among marmots, it has dark upperparts and rear parts that contrast clearly with the pale underparts and frontal parts. Like other marmots, it gradually becomes darker overall as the season progresses. The range of the Menzbier’s marmot is split in two by the Pskem River and its valley. Although the two populations are very similar in their appearance, they are clearly separated genetically, leading to the recognition of the northern M. m. menzbieri and the southern subspecies M. m. zachidovi. Menzbier’s marmots hibernate from August or September to April or May.Its name commemorates Russian zoologist Mikhail Aleksandrovich Menzbier.
Other animals of the family Sciuridae
Menzbier’s marmot is a member of the Sciuridae, as are these animals:
- Golden-mantled ground squirrel with 5 babies per pregnancy
- Hoary marmot with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Three-striped ground squirrel weighting only 175 grams
- Sierra Madre ground squirrel with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Japanese squirrel weighting only 264 grams
- Texas antelope squirrel with 9 babies per pregnancy
- Tufted ground squirrel weighting around 1.35 kilograms (2.98 lbs)
- Hodgson’s giant flying squirrel weighting around 1.48 kilograms (3.26 lbs)
- Grizzled giant squirrel with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Congo rope squirrel with 2 babies per pregnancy
Animals that share a litter size with Menzbier’s marmot
Those animals also give birth to 2 babies at once:
- Sumichrast’s vesper rat
- Moss-forest rat
- Large-scaled mosaic-tailed rat
- Talazac’s shrew tenrec
- Golden bandicoot
- American shrew mole
- Calamian deer
- Long-tailed mouse
- Thick-tailed pygmy jerboa
- Spotted hyena
Animals that get as old as a Menzbier’s marmot
Other animals that usually reach the age of 15 years:
- Red panda with 14 years
- Greater fairy armadillo with 12 years
- Santarem marmoset with 15 years
- Black-crested Sumatran langur with 16 years
- Coquerel’s giant mouse lemur with 15.25 years
- Desert rat-kangaroo with 13 years
- White-nosed saki with 17 years
- Silvery marmoset with 16.75 years
- Common pipistrelle with 16.67 years
- Nabarlek with 17 years
Animals with the same size as a Menzbier’s marmot
Also reaching around 45 cm (1′ 6″) in size do these animals:
- Stripe-necked mongoose gets as big as 47.8 cm (1′ 7″)
- Greater bamboo lemur gets as big as 37 cm (1′ 3″)
- Banded linsang gets as big as 40 cm (1′ 4″)
- Red-tailed monkey gets as big as 44.4 cm (1′ 6″)
- Eastern common cuscus gets as big as 38.4 cm (1′ 4″)
- Northern common cuscus gets as big as 42.4 cm (1′ 5″)
- Aquatic genet gets as big as 45.8 cm (1′ 7″)
- Indian grey mongoose gets as big as 40 cm (1′ 4″)
- Sunda flying lemur gets as big as 37.9 cm (1′ 3″)
- Raccoon dog gets as big as 44.8 cm (1′ 6″)