Categories
Litter Size

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

How many baby Rakalis are in a litter?

A Rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster) usually gives birth to around 3 babies.With 2 litters per year, that sums up to a yearly offspring of 6 babies.

Each of those little ones spend around 36 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 25 grams (0.06 lbs) and measure 8.5 cm (0′ 4″). They are a member of the Muridae family (genus: Hydromys). An adult Rakali grows up to a size of 27.5 cm (0′ 11″).

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 average litter size of a Rakali is 3

The rakali, Hydromys chrysogaster, also known as the rabe or water-rat, is an Australian native rodent first described in 1804. The change to the aboriginal name Rakali was intended to foster a positive public attitude by Environment Australia.Kunwinjku of western Arnhem Land call this animal Yirrku (Goodfellow, Fauna of Kakadu and the Top End, 1993).It is the only member of the genus Hydromys with a range extending beyond Papua New Guinea and Indonesian West Papua. Having adapted to and colonised a unique niche of a semiaquatic and nocturnal lifestyle, this species lives in burrows on the banks of rivers, lakes and estuaries and feeds on aquatic insects, fish, crustaceans, mussels, snails, frogs, birds’ eggs and water birds. Rakali have a body 231–370 millimetres (9.1–14.6 in) in length, weigh, 340–1,275 grams (0.750–2.811 lb) and have a thick tail measuring around 242–345 millimetres (9.5–13.6 in). Females are generally smaller than males but tail lengths are normally the same.They have partially webbed hind legs, waterproof fur, a flattened head, a long blunt nose, many whiskers and small ears and eyes. The body is streamlined with a skull that is large, flat and elongated, with two molars on the upper and lower jaw, similar to the False water rat Xeromys myoides. They are black to brown in colour with an orange to white belly, and dark tail with a white tip.Hunted for their soft fur and considered a nuisance animal, numbers were under threat until a protection order in 1938. They were still under destruction permits from 1938 to 1957 due to alleged destruction of irrigation banks and destruction of fishing nets. Additionally from 1957 to 1967 a number of licensed seasons were also held for this reason.

Other animals of the family Muridae

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

Animals that share a litter size with Rakali

Those animals also give birth to 3 babies at once:

Animals that get as old as a Rakali

Other animals that usually reach the age of 6.17 years:

Animals with the same weight as a Rakali

What other animals weight around 626 grams (1.38 lbs)?

Animals with the same size as a Rakali

Also reaching around 27.5 cm (0′ 11″) in size do these animals: