{"id":44259,"date":"2024-12-01T07:43:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T06:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1dee42ac-93bd-4d24-b9cb-dc341bed57fb"},"modified":"2024-12-01T08:27:23","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T07:27:23","slug":"which-is-the-worlds-most-numerous-mammal","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/which-is-the-worlds-most-numerous-mammal\/","title":{"rendered":"Which is the world\u2019s most numerous mammal?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the human population count now at over 8 billion, we are the winners. But which mammal comes next? <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Sunday, 01 December 2024 at 06:43 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Humans are likely the most numerous species of mammal on the planet Earth at the moment. The population reached 8 billion in November 2022. That’s an increase of one billion in just 11 years (we hit 7 billion in 2011).<\/p>

The United Nations predicts it will take approximately 15 years, until 2037, for it to reach 9 billion, a sign that the overall growth rate of the global population is slowing.<\/p>

Which is the world\u2019s most numerous mammal?<\/h2>

When it comes to the animal kingdom, at the last count there were 5,487 species of mammal on Earth. Of these, 40 per cent are rodents \u2013 and it\u2019ll come as no surprise to discover that the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus<\/em>) is the most numerous.<\/p>

This adaptable rodent breeds easily. A female brown rat can breed from around three months old, and has an average of five litters a year. Each litter can have up to 12 young.<\/p>

The house mouse population in Great Britain is over 5 million. Getty Images <\/figcaption> <\/figure>

The house mouse (Mus domesticus<\/em>) comes close in number too, which isn’t a surprise as both of the histories and distribution of these rodents is closely tied to ours.<\/p>

Other candidates include the 100 species of white-toothed shrews in Africa alone, most of which are indistinguishable to the untrained eye.<\/p>