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Animal Age

How old does a Rakali get? (age expectancy)

What is the maximal age a Rakali reaches?

An adult Rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster) usually gets as old as 6.17 years.

Rakalis are around 36 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 25 grams (0.06 lbs) and measure 8.5 cm (0′ 4″). As a member of the Muridae family (genus: Hydromys), a Rakali caries out around 3 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 2 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 27.5 cm (0′ 11″).

As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.

A Rakali gets as old as 6.17 years

The rakali, Hydromys chrysogaster, also known as the rabe or water-rat, is an Australian native rodent first described in 1804. The change to the aboriginal name Rakali was intended to foster a positive public attitude by Environment Australia.Kunwinjku of western Arnhem Land call this animal Yirrku (Goodfellow, Fauna of Kakadu and the Top End, 1993).It is the only member of the genus Hydromys with a range extending beyond Papua New Guinea and Indonesian West Papua. Having adapted to and colonised a unique niche of a semiaquatic and nocturnal lifestyle, this species lives in burrows on the banks of rivers, lakes and estuaries and feeds on aquatic insects, fish, crustaceans, mussels, snails, frogs, birds’ eggs and water birds. Rakali have a body 231–370 millimetres (9.1–14.6 in) in length, weigh, 340–1,275 grams (0.750–2.811 lb) and have a thick tail measuring around 242–345 millimetres (9.5–13.6 in). Females are generally smaller than males but tail lengths are normally the same.They have partially webbed hind legs, waterproof fur, a flattened head, a long blunt nose, many whiskers and small ears and eyes. The body is streamlined with a skull that is large, flat and elongated, with two molars on the upper and lower jaw, similar to the False water rat Xeromys myoides. They are black to brown in colour with an orange to white belly, and dark tail with a white tip.Hunted for their soft fur and considered a nuisance animal, numbers were under threat until a protection order in 1938. They were still under destruction permits from 1938 to 1957 due to alleged destruction of irrigation banks and destruction of fishing nets. Additionally from 1957 to 1967 a number of licensed seasons were also held for this reason.

Animals of the same family as a Rakali

Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Muridae):

Animals that reach the same age as Rakali

With an average age of 6.17 years, Rakali are in good companionship of the following animals:

Animals with the same number of babies Rakali

The same number of babies at once (3) are born by:

Weighting as much as Rakali

A fully grown Rakali reaches around 626 grams (1.38 lbs). So do these animals:

Animals as big as a Rakali

Those animals grow as big as a Rakali: