It is hard to guess what a African brush-tailed porcupine weights. But we have the answer:
An adult African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) on average weights 2.88 kg (6.34 lbs).
The African brush-tailed porcupine is from the family Hystricidae (genus: Atherurus). It is usually born with about 146 grams (0.32 lbs). They can live for up to 22.83 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 43.1 cm (1′ 5″). On average, African brush-tailed porcupines can have babies 2 times per year with a litter size of 1.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) is a species of rat-like Old World porcupine, indigenous to a broad belt of Africa ranging from Guinea on the west coast to Kenya on the east. This is a common species with a very wide range, and despite being used extensively for bushmeat, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of “least concern”.
Animals of the same family as a African brush-tailed porcupine
We found other animals of the Hystricidae family:
- Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine bringing 2 kilos (4.41 lbs) to the scale
- Crested porcupine bringing 13.4 kilos (29.54 lbs) to the scale
- Philippine porcupine bringing 3.55 kilos (7.83 lbs) to the scale
- Indian crested porcupine bringing 14.3 kilos (31.53 lbs) to the scale
- Long-tailed porcupine bringing 1.75 kilos (3.86 lbs) to the scale
- Thick-spined porcupine bringing 4.59 kilos (10.12 lbs) to the scale
- Malayan porcupine bringing 8 kilos (17.64 lbs) to the scale
- Cape porcupine bringing 14.92 kilos (32.89 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a African brush-tailed porcupine
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Atherurus africanus:
- Mexican cottontail with a weight of 2.49 kilos (5.49 lbs)
- Marbled cat with a weight of 2.83 kilos (6.24 lbs)
- Kalinowski’s agouti with a weight of 2.65 kilos (5.84 lbs)
- Aye-aye with a weight of 2.74 kilos (6.04 lbs)
- Tufted capuchin with a weight of 2.76 kilos (6.08 lbs)
- Jameson’s red rock hare with a weight of 2.38 kilos (5.25 lbs)
- Wolf’s mona monkey with a weight of 3.26 kilos (7.19 lbs)
- Woolly hare with a weight of 2.47 kilos (5.45 lbs)
- Humboldt’s white-fronted capuchin with a weight of 2.52 kilos (5.56 lbs)
- Yellow-throated marten with a weight of 2.5 kilos (5.51 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a African brush-tailed porcupine
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as African brush-tailed porcupine:
- African savanna hare with a size of 45 cm (1′ 6″)
- Sand cat with a size of 51.3 cm (1′ 9″)
- Black-footed ferret with a size of 39.7 cm (1′ 4″)
- Large-spotted civet with a size of 42.4 cm (1′ 5″)
- Ethiopian highland hare with a size of 51 cm (1′ 9″)
- Southern naked-tailed armadillo with a size of 45.5 cm (1′ 6″)
- Omilteme cottontail with a size of 39.2 cm (1′ 4″)
- Golden palm civet with a size of 48.8 cm (1′ 8″)
- David’s echymipera with a size of 37.6 cm (1′ 3″)
- Sumatran striped rabbit with a size of 37.7 cm (1′ 3″)
Animals with the same litter size as a African brush-tailed porcupine
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a African brush-tailed porcupine:
- Indian pipistrelle
- Spectral tarsier
- Antarctic fur seal
- Greater spot-nosed monkey
- Least pipistrelle
- Allied rock-wallaby
- African bush elephant
- Ground pangolin
- Northern giraffe
- Tonkin snub-nosed monkey
Animals with the same life expectancy as a African brush-tailed porcupine
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a African brush-tailed porcupine:
- Asian palm civet with an average maximal age of 22.42 years
- Barbary macaque with an average maximal age of 22 years
- Bighorn sheep with an average maximal age of 24 years
- Tana River mangabey with an average maximal age of 21 years
- Malayan porcupine with an average maximal age of 27.25 years
- Eurasian otter with an average maximal age of 22 years
- West Caucasian tur with an average maximal age of 20.5 years
- Striped hyena with an average maximal age of 24 years
- Springbok with an average maximal age of 20 years
- Crested mona monkey with an average maximal age of 24.08 years