HOW LONG DO ELEPHANTS STAY PREGNANT?

by Editor on December 31, 2011

A Baby Zoo Elephant With Its Mother. Photo:William Warby

Elephant Gestation: A Long Pregnancy

The most frequently asked question about elephants here on All About Wildlife is how long do elephants live? However, the second most popular pachyderm question is, what is the elephant’s gestation period—in other words, how long does an elephant stay pregnant?

Both African and Asian elephants have a pregnancy that approaches two years—22 months, to be exact. This is the longest gestation period for any land animal, and one —of the longest for any animal on earth. Elephants produce one baby at a time, and the youngster weighs around 105 kilograms (230 pounds) at birth.

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Cloning Won't Save Endangered Species
The recent, credible announcement that an international team of scientists is planning to create a baby mammoth through cloning has inspired much speculation about the possibility of using the cloning process to save endangered species. Unfortunately, cloning is not the answer to the earth's problem of plummeting biodiversity. Not only will the process probably always be too expensive to create significant numbers of large wild animals, but the animals produced would end up being virtual carbon copies of one another, and therefore lacking in the genetic diversity necessary to sustain a population. As always, the way to conserve endangered species is to stop exploiting them, and to preserve their habitats. Read more about cloning and endangered species.
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HOW LONG DO ELEPHANTS STAY PREGNANT?

Elephant Gestation: A Long Pregnancy

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FROM STUDENTS & READERS: TOP 10 ENDANGERED SPECIES QUESTIONS

This Week's Top Features

Cloning Won't Save Endangered Species

Africa Loses A Wild Rhino A Day

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: The Eastern Cougar Is Extinct

Time Is Running Out For Tigers

Biologist Hopes To Save Leopards With Fake Fur

Dolphin-Safe Tuna: Some Disturbing Facts

New York Times Falls For Amazon Indians' Fish Story

Monkeys Demonstrate Use Of 'Dental Floss' To Their Young

Where The Buffalo Will Roam

The "Good" Earthworm?

Outdoor Cats Pose a Major Environmental Threat

Koalas Struggle To Survive As A Species

One Third Of All Amphibian Species Are In Danger Of Extinction

Climate Change Hits Arctic Species, Including Polar Bears and Walruses

Don't Accessorize Your Life With Wildlife