How long does an elephant's gestation last

Author: Laura McKinney
Date Of Creation: 5 August 2021
Update Date: 6 November 2024
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Elephants are very large and very intelligent animals and are currently the largest land animals in existence. They are family members of the extinct mammoths, a mammal that lived until 3700 years ago.

The gestation period of an elephant is very long, one of the longest that currently exists. There are several factors that influence the period to be this long, one of them is the size of the elephant as a fetus and the size it should be at birth. A determining factor in gestation time is the brain, which has to develop sufficiently before being born.

In the Animal Expert you will find out more details about the pregnancy of an elephant and you will be able to find out this way. how long does an elephant's gestation last and some other details and trivia.


The fertilization of the elephant

The female elephant's menstrual cycle lasts from 3 to 4 months so can be fertilized 3 to 4 times a year and these factors make pregnancy in captivity a little more difficult. The mating rituals between male and female are short-lived, they tend to rub against each other and hug their trunks.

Females tend to run away from males, who must then go after them. Male elephants flutter their ears more at mating seasons than at other times, in order to spread their scent and have a better chance of breeding. Males older than 40 and 50 years of age are the most likely to mate. On the other hand, females can have a gestation from 14 years of age.

In the wild, there are many aggressions between males to get the right to mate, in which the younger ones have few possibilities in the face of the strength of the elders. They must wait until they are more mature to be able to reproduce. The normal is that males cover females once a day for 3 to 4 days and if the process is successful the female enters the gestation period.


the elephant's gestation

The pregnancy and gestation of an elephant can last approximately 22 months, this being one of the longest processes in the animal kingdom. There are several reasons for this, for example one is that elephants are very big even when they are still just fetuses.

Due to its size, the development of the elephant in the belly of the hand is slower and gestation ends up being slow because it goes hand in hand with the development of the elephant. Pregnancies in elephants are killed thanks to various ovarian hormones known as corpora lutea.

Gestation time also allows the elephant correctly develop your brain, something very important since they are very intelligent animals. This intelligence serves them to feed using their trunk for example, and this development also allows the elephant to survive at birth.


Curiosities of elephant gestation

There are certain interesting facts about elephants and their gestation.

  • Elephants can be artificially inseminated, however this requires invasive methods.
  • Elephants have a hormonal process that has not been seen in any other species so far.
  • The gestation period of an elephant is ten months longer than that of a blue whale, which has a gestation period of one year.
  • An elephant calf must weigh between 100 to 150 kg at the time of birth.
  • When elephants are born they cannot see, they are practically blind.
  • Between each birth the interval is approximately 4 to 5 years.

If you liked this article, don't hesitate to comment and continue browsing through Animal Expert and also discover the following articles about elephants:

  • how much does an elephant weigh
  • elephant feeding
  • how long does an elephant live