It is hard to guess what a Greater cane rat weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) on average weights 3.75 kg (8.27 lbs).
The Greater cane rat is from the family Thryonomyidae (genus: Thryonomys). It is usually born with about 119 grams (0.26 lbs). They can live for up to 4.25 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 10.4 cm (0′ 5″). On average, Greater cane rats can have babies 2 times per year with a litter size of 3.
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 greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) is one of two species of cane rats, a small family of African hystricognath rodents. The cane rat lives by reed-beds and riverbanks in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cane rats can grow to nearly 60 cm (2.0 ft) in length and weigh a little less than 8.5 kg (19 lb). It has rounded ears, a short nose, and coarse bristly hair. Its forefeet are smaller than its hind feet, each with three toes.Cane rats live in small groups led by a single male. They are nocturnal and make nests from grasses or burrow underground. Individuals of the species may live in excess of four years. If frightened, they grunt and run towards water. So far, their conservation status is lower risk.As humans expanded into the cane rat’s native habitats, the cane rats likewise expanded from their native reeds into the plantations, particularly the sugar cane plantations from which they derive their name. Their tendency to adopt plantations as habitat, where they feed on agricultural crops such as maize, wheat, sugar-cane and cassava, often earns them the label of agricultural pest. However, the peoples of the region also utilize the cane rat as a food source (as bushmeat), considering the meat a delicacy. Consequently, grasscutters (as they are often called in Ghana, Nigeria and other regions of West Africa) are beginning to be raised in cages for sale.
Animals of the same family as a Greater cane rat
We found other animals of the Thryonomyidae family:
- Lesser cane rat bringing 2.71 kilos (5.97 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Greater cane rat
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Thryonomys swinderianus:
- Pale-throated sloth with a weight of 4.33 kilos (9.55 lbs)
- Red-rumped agouti with a weight of 3.02 kilos (6.66 lbs)
- Red-eared guenon with a weight of 3.25 kilos (7.17 lbs)
- Golden-backed uakari with a weight of 3.13 kilos (6.9 lbs)
- South American coati with a weight of 3.78 kilos (8.33 lbs)
- Arctic fox with a weight of 3.58 kilos (7.89 lbs)
- Tiger quoll with a weight of 3.32 kilos (7.32 lbs)
- Grivet with a weight of 3.86 kilos (8.51 lbs)
- European hare with a weight of 3.82 kilos (8.42 lbs)
- Kaapori capuchin with a weight of 3 kilos (6.61 lbs)
Animals with the same litter size as a Greater cane rat
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Greater cane rat:
- Lesser red musk shrew
- Creeping vole
- Malayan field rat
- Northern mole vole
- Smooth-coated otter
- Chilean rock rat
- Beech marten
- Pampas fox
- Coruro
- Lesser hamster-rat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Greater cane rat
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Greater cane rat:
- Sandhill dunnart with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Black-footed tree-rat with an average maximal age of 3.83 years
- Derby’s woolly opossum with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Evening bat with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Acacia rat with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Southern grasshopper mouse with an average maximal age of 4.58 years
- Japanese mole with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Hylaeamys megacephalus with an average maximal age of 3.75 years
- Little free-tailed bat with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Bank vole with an average maximal age of 4.83 years