The elephant, the land mammal that is considered the largest in the world, is an exceptional animal that lives in herd and has a matriarchy system. The gestation time of an elephant is also considered to be the longest, as far as land animals are concerned, although this is not a surprise considering the size with which the calves are born.
What is the gestation period of an elephant?
The long gestation time of an elephant, which reaches almost two years, has many benefits in the offspring, since they have a higher development than other land mammals while they are in the womb of their mothers.
The development of its brain is superior, since the offspring is born with a very advanced intelligence, almost equal to that of the Dolphin, whale and primate, which have been classified as super gifted animals.
These animals have amazed scientists who study their behavior and the species in general, as they are always on the lookout to follow every detail of pregnancy. In addition to this, the long gestational durability has aroused much interest due to the danger that these animals are in extinction.
Sexual maturity and ovulation of the elephant
Elephants, unlike other species of animals, take much longer to reach sexual maturity, since it arrives in females approximately between 10 or 11 years of age, and in males it can take until they reach their 12 or 15 years, however, it is at 40 or 50 years when the males are fully capable of going into heat and thus be able to impregnate a female, since when they are young they lose control easily and do not know very well what to do.
During the mating season, we can usually see adolescent and young males compete against older ones for the right to mate with a female, however, they almost never win, the older male has more experience and strength, for this reason they are almost always the winners, thus being able to have the opportunity to have a descendant. This occurs in almost any type Sexual Reproduction in Animals, the young males must fight to be able to mate.
These confrontations between males can become very aggressive, because due to testosterone they become much more aggressive and attack their rivals with strong attacks, in addition to using their powerful trunks full of muscles as weapons, which usually cause great damage. . Some elephants have been known to die after fights due to being badly injured, especially those extremely old elephants competing with an adult between 40 and 70 years old.
The reproductive cycle of the female is very unusual and has attracted a lot of attention because it only appears after 4 or 5 years of having had her previous offspring, that is, the mother dedicates herself for 4 or 5 years to her youngest calf before becoming pregnant again. The ovulation of females is activated after a double discharge of leuteostimulant occurs, this is the hormone responsible for activating the ovulation cycle in elephants.
courtship and mating
The courtship between male and female elephants is usually very short, lasting less than 60 seconds, however, it is an extremely interesting and important spectacle. The males usually perceive the smell of the pheromones that the females secrete when they are in heat and this is how it begins to follow the female trying to persuade her to mate, since they do not usually give in immediately.
When the female finally gives her consent, physical contact begins where both intertwine their tubes and rub each other. However, if the animals are in captivity, both should be placed in the same place to allow courtship to take place properly. The natural thing is that this act is witnessed by the entire pack.
Finally, the male must mount on the female to perform the act of copulation, this will be done once a day and for approximately 3 or 4 days. At the end of this stage, and if fertilization is successful, the female will enter her gestation period, which will last approximately two years.
Gestation period of elephants
Many people wonderhow long is an elephant's pregnancy? These mammals are exceptional animals that always surprise us in one way or another. The gestation period of an elephant It can last between 22 and 23 months, this means that they almost reach two years of pregnancy.
Scientists who study these animals have always been very curious about the reason for such a long gestation period, however, studies show that all this is closely related to the hormonal part of elephants and the incredible development of the offspring.
The time that the calf is in the mother's womb contributes to its development, because at birth, these are large, they can measure around one meter and weigh approximately 110 or 1290 kilos. In addition to this, advanced brain development also benefits, as small elephants are born with complete brain development, making these animals extremely intelligent from infancy.
Elephant babies could have the ability to survive on their own after birth, in addition to that they are perfectly capable of integrating into their herd and feeding themselves.
Elephant pregnancy and gestation time
The pregnancy begins being supported by the hormones produced by the mother's body and that directly help the formation and embryonic growth. You can tell when a female is pregnant due to the fact that under her tail you can see a bulge, this is because it is in that place where the gestating calf is found.
Like all other mammals, the elephant fetus spends its gestation stage inside the mother's womb, where it fully develops and is nourished by the umbilical cord during the elephant's gestation period. After the established time and the complete formation of the calf, labor begins.
Until now, it is unknown what are the embryonic stages through which the calf passes throughout the 22 or 23 months of gestation.
Nowadays, artificial fertilizations are carried out on female elephants, this is because there are many concerns about the danger that elephants in general are in as an endangered species. Carrying out this process gives more opportunities for the birth of offspring in captivity.
For this process to work, an invasive procedure must be performed, which is usually very painful and stressful for the female. However, it is a very effective method since it is possible to introduce a fetus in the gestation period directly into the mother's uterus.
The birth of the elephant after the gestation period
The time from the moment the mother begins her labor to the birth of the calf is about an hour, it almost never exceeds that time. Mothers will give birth to their young while standing up and constantly moving from one place to another.
When they are born, the young are fully developed and independent, they are able to stand up on their own and reach the mother to feed on breast milk. The first intake of milk will last several hours, the mother will nurse her calf during that time without moving so that it does not separate from the udder.
How many babies do elephants have?
A female elephant usually gives birth to a single calf, this is because they are very large and the space in the mother's womb is not always suitable for gestating more than one embryo, however, it has been females have been known to have twins, although this is very rare.
During their life, they have an approximate of between 7 and 12 offspring. Let's remember that the body of the females waits around 4 or 5 years after having their last baby to re-enter their reproductive stage. For this reason they do not usually have too many offspring throughout their lives.
