 Various authors have reported the length at birth anywhere from 40 to 80 cm ( 16 to 31 in ) , with the discrepancy possibly reflecting geographic variation . Although females release up to four fertilized eggs into each uterus , the very large size of the newborns suggest that the litter size may be as few as one or two . In one examined female that had two embryos sharing a single uterus , one embryo was much smaller and thinner than the other , implying that competition may eliminate the additional siblings . Males attain sexual maturity at a length of 2 @.@ 5 m ( 8 ft 2 in ) , and females at a length of 2 @.@ 3 – 2 @.@ 9 m ( 7 ft 7 in – 9 ft 6 in ) . 
