It is hard to guess what a African clawless otter weights. But we have the answer:
An adult African clawless otter (Aonyx capensis) on average weights 19.16 kg (42.24 lbs).
The African clawless otter is from the family Mustelidae (genus: Aonyx). They can live for up to 11 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 80.9 cm (2′ 8″). Usually, African clawless otters have 2 babies per litter.
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 clawless otter (Aonyx capensis), also known as the Cape clawless otter or groot otter, is the second-largest freshwater species of otter. African clawless otters are found near permanent bodies of water in savannah and lowland forest areas. They range through most of sub-Saharan Africa, except for the Congo River basin and arid areas. They are characterized by partly webbed and clawless feet, from which their name is derived. The word aonyx means “clawless”, derived from the prefix a- (“without”) and onyx (“claw/hoof”).
Animals of the same family as a African clawless otter
We found other animals of the Mustelidae family:
- Mountain weasel with a weight of 180 grams
- Hooded skunk bringing 1.1 kilos (2.43 lbs) to the scale
- Asian small-clawed otter bringing 3.53 kilos (7.78 lbs) to the scale
- Honey badger bringing 9 kilos (19.84 lbs) to the scale
- Long-tailed weasel with a weight of 191 grams
- European mink with a weight of 567 grams
- Sunda stink badger bringing 2.5 kilos (5.51 lbs) to the scale
- Marine otter bringing 11.2 kilos (24.69 lbs) to the scale
- American mink with a weight of 904 grams
- Asian small-clawed otter bringing 3.53 kilos (7.78 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a African clawless otter
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Aonyx capensis:
- Gray brocket with a weight of 16.63 kilos (36.66 lbs)
- Lesser capybara with a weight of 21.27 kilos (46.89 lbs)
- Saudi gazelle with a weight of 16 kilos (35.27 lbs)
- Dwarf brocket with a weight of 16.04 kilos (35.36 lbs)
- Olive baboon with a weight of 17.73 kilos (39.09 lbs)
- Red-necked wallaby with a weight of 16.83 kilos (37.1 lbs)
- Gelada with a weight of 15.98 kilos (35.23 lbs)
- Gray brocket with a weight of 16.4 kilos (36.16 lbs)
- Collared peccary with a weight of 21.19 kilos (46.72 lbs)
- North American beaver with a weight of 18.11 kilos (39.93 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a African clawless otter
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as African clawless otter:
- Aardwolf with a size of 70.1 cm (2′ 4″)
- Red-fronted gazelle with a size of 88.5 cm (2′ 11″)
- Crab-eating fox with a size of 65 cm (2′ 2″)
- Southern hairy-nosed wombat with a size of 85.5 cm (2′ 10″)
- Bornean orangutan with a size of 89 cm (3′ 0″)
- African civet with a size of 79.2 cm (2′ 8″)
- Gray dorcopsis with a size of 66.4 cm (2′ 3″)
- Eastern grey kangaroo with a size of 87.7 cm (2′ 11″)
- Indri with a size of 73.4 cm (2′ 5″)
- Jaguarundi with a size of 70.1 cm (2′ 4″)
Animals with the same litter size as a African clawless otter
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (2) as a African clawless otter:
- Baluchistan pygmy jerboa
- Eastern rat
- Trinidad spiny pocket mouse
- Lesser bilby
- Round-tailed muskrat
- Val’s gundi
- Masked palm civet
- Himalayan striped squirrel
- Pampas cat
- Red hocicudo
Animals with the same life expectancy as a African clawless otter
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a African clawless otter:
- Pudú with an average maximal age of 12.5 years
- Fisher (animal) with an average maximal age of 10.08 years
- Thylacine with an average maximal age of 13 years
- Pallid bat with an average maximal age of 9.08 years
- Four-horned antelope with an average maximal age of 10.75 years
- Muskrat with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Grey-bellied squirrel with an average maximal age of 9.5 years
- Common kusimanse with an average maximal age of 9 years
- Long-footed treeshrew with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Mountain reedbuck with an average maximal age of 12.25 years