How many baby Water deers are in a litter?
A Water deer (Hydropotes inermis) usually gives birth to around 3 babies.
Each of those little ones spend around 175 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 1.02 kg (2.24 lbs) and measure 8.5 cm (0′ 4″). They are a member of the Cervidae family (genus: Hydropotes). An adult Water deer 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 water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is a small deer superficially more similar to a musk deer than a true deer. Native to China and Korea, there are two subspecies: the Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis inermis) and the Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus). Despite its lack of antlers and certain other anatomical anomalies—including a pair of prominent tusks (downward-pointing canine teeth), it is classified as a cervid. Its unique anatomical characteristics have caused it to be classified in its own genus (Hydropotes) as well as its own subfamily (Hydropotinae). However, studies of mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b DNA sequences placed it near Capreolus within an Old World section of the subfamily Capreolinae. Its prominent tusks (elongated canines), similar to those of musk deer, have led to both being colloquially named vampire deer in English-speaking areas to which they have been imported. The species is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. It was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1870.
Other animals of the family Cervidae
Water deer is a member of the Cervidae, as are these animals:
- Red deer with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Pygmy brocket weighting around 16.5 kilograms (36.38 lbs)
- Fea’s muntjac with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Chital with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Roe deer with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Indian muntjac with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Reindeer with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Mule deer with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Thorold’s deer with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Taruca with 1 babies per pregnancy
Animals that share a litter size with Water deer
Those animals also give birth to 3 babies at once:
- Southern short-tailed shrew
- Alpine pine vole
- Blanford’s jerboa
- Ash-grey mouse
- Striped hog-nosed skunk
- Panamanian spiny pocket mouse
- Northern mole vole
- Namaqua rock rat
- Southern big-eared mouse
- Great jerboa
Animals that get as old as a Water deer
Other animals that usually reach the age of 12 years:
- Whiptail wallaby with 14 years
- Fischer’s pygmy fruit bat with 10 years
- Beira (antelope) with 14 years
- Quokka with 12 years
- Asian small-clawed otter with 10.08 years
- Llama with 14.17 years
- Harnessed bushbuck with 13 years
- Muskrat with 10 years
- European mink with 10 years
- White-tailed mongoose with 12 years
Animals with the same weight as a Water deer
What other animals weight around 12.73 kg (28.06 lbs)?
- Marine otter usually reaching 11.2 kgs (24.69 lbs)
- Roosevelt’s muntjac usually reaching 10.76 kgs (23.72 lbs)
- Binturong usually reaching 13 kgs (28.66 lbs)
- Barbary macaque usually reaching 11.49 kgs (25.33 lbs)
- Golden snub-nosed monkey usually reaching 13.46 kgs (29.67 lbs)
- Iberian lynx usually reaching 11.08 kgs (24.43 lbs)
- Ocelot usually reaching 11.89 kgs (26.21 lbs)
- Malabar large-spotted civet usually reaching 12.08 kgs (26.63 lbs)
- Clouded leopard usually reaching 15.02 kgs (33.11 lbs)
- Tibetan macaque usually reaching 10.6 kgs (23.37 lbs)