The Ten Top Mammals Which Produces the Largest Litter of Babies
It has been known that us humans can sometimes give birth to up to eight babies! But mostly it is just the one. But even if it was 8 on average us humans wouldn’t make it into this list! It seems there are some mammals out there that produce more babies (in one birth) than I’ve had hot dinners…
The Ten Top Mammals Which Produces the Largest Litter of Babies
Wild Boar
10 – Wild Boar – Average Litter: 6
Grunting noises which differ in intensity according to the situation. Adult males are usually silent, while females frequently grunt and piglets whine. When feeding, boars express their contentment through purring. Studies have shown that piglets imitate the sounds of their mother, thus different litters may have unique vocalisations.
Meadow vole
9 – Meadow Vole – Average Litter: 6
Fall, winter, and spring litters tend to be smaller than summer litters. Litter size was positively correlated with body size and is not significantly different in primiparous and multiparous females.
African Hunting Dog
8 – African Hunting Dog – Average Litter: 7
The African wild dog produces more pups than any other canid, with litters containing around 7 pups on average, thus indicating that a single female can produce enough young to form a new pack each and every year.
European Hedgehog
7 – European Hedgehog – Average Litter: 7
The female alone raises the litter which typically is 7 though this can range from two to ten. Studies have indicated that litter size may increase in more northern climes. The young are born blind with a covering of small spines. By the time they are 36 hours old, the second, outer coat of spines begins to sprout, then by just 11 days they can roll into a ball.
Longevity and mortality
Coypu
6 – Coypu – Average Litter: 8
Baby coypus are precocial, born fully furred and with open eyes; they can eat vegetation with their parents within hours of birth. A female coypu can become pregnant again the day after she gives birth to her young. If timed properly, a female can become pregnant three times within a year. Newborn coypus nurse for seven to eight weeks, after which they leave their mothers.
Prairie vole
5 – Prairie Vole – Average Litter: 9
The female’s gestation period is between 20 and 30 days. Female voles have two to four litters of two to seven young per year in a nest lined with vegetation in an underground burrow or in a depression on the ground. Litter size varies depending on food availability and the age of the female. The largest number of pregnancies with the highest offspring occur in spring and fall.
Stoat
4 – Stoat – Average Litter: 10
Stoats are not monogamous, with litters often being of mixed paternity. The gestation period lasts circa 280 days. Males play no part in rearing the young, which are born blind, deaf, toothless and covered in fine white or pinkish down, then the milk teeth erupt after three weeks and solid food is eaten after four weeks.
Golden Hampster
3 – Golden Hampster – – Average Litter: 11
Hamsters are seasonal breeders and will produce several litters a year with several pups in each litter. The average litter size for Syrian hamsters is about 11 pups but can be as great as 24, which is the maximum number of pups that can be contained in the uterus.
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Virginian Opossum
2 – Virginian Opossum – Average Litter: 22
An average litter is 22 joeys, which will reside in their mother’s pouch for about two-and-a-half months, before eventually climbing on her back. They leave their mother after about four or five months.
Malagasy Tenrec
1 – Malagasy Tenrec – Average Litter: 25
While the otter shrews have just two young per litter, the tailless tenrec can have as many as 32 and females possess up to 29 teats, more than any other mammal. At least some tenrec species are social, living in multigenerational family groups with over a dozen individuals.