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Litter Size

How many babies does a Western heather vole have at once? (litter size)

How many baby Western heather voles are in a litter?

A Western heather vole (Phenacomys intermedius) usually gives birth to around 4 babies.With 3 litters per year, that sums up to a yearly offspring of 12 babies.

Each of those little ones spend around 22 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 2 grams (0 lbs) and measure 6.9 cm (0′ 3″). They are a member of the Muridae family (genus: Phenacomys). An adult Western heather vole grows up to a size of 10.7 cm (0′ 5″).

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 Western heather vole is 4

The western heather vole (Phenacomys intermedius) is a small vole found in western North America. Until recently, the eastern heather vole, (Phenacomys ungava), was considered to be a subspecies.These animals are similar in appearance to the meadow vole. They have short ears and a short thin tail which is paler underneath. Their long soft fur is brownish with silver grey underparts. They are 14 cm long with a 3.5 cm tail and weigh about 40 g.They are found in alpine meadows, open shrubby areas, dry forests with shrubs below to provide cover and tundra regions, usually near water, in British Columbia, the Yukon and the western United States. In summer, they live in burrows and, in winter, they tunnel under the snow. They store food for later use year-round.They feed on plant leaves and berries in summer and plant bark and buds in winter, also seeds and fungi. Predators include owls, hawks and carnivorous mammals.The female vole has 2 or 3 litters of 2 to 9 young in a nest made from grasses.They are active year-round, and are crepuscular.The population of this animal has been reduced in some parts of its range because of clearcutting of forests.

Other animals of the family Muridae

Western heather vole is a member of the Muridae, as are these animals:

Animals that share a litter size with Western heather vole

Those animals also give birth to 4 babies at once:

Animals with the same weight as a Western heather vole

What other animals weight around 25 grams (0.06 lbs)?

Animals with the same size as a Western heather vole

Also reaching around 10.7 cm (0′ 5″) in size do these animals: