One of the interesting things to know about elephants is the fact that they remain the only animals with the longest pregnancies in the World. According to BBC Earth, these animals carry their pregnancies for about 22 months, which is equivalent to about 680 days.
One of the questions worth asking about the long gestational period of elephants is, why do these animals carry their pregnancies for nearly 2 years? In this article, we will be talking about the two reasons elephants have long period of pregnancies as compared to other animals.
1. They are large in size.
Elephants are widely known to be the largest land animals in the World. At birth, these animals can weigh up to 91 kg, which is more than the average body mass of humans (60 kg), according to National Geographic.
Because these animals are large in size, even at birth, it takes longer time for them to develop in the womb. The larger the size, the longer the time for development, according to BBC Earth.
2. They have a complex intellect.
Many researches have shown that elephants are capable of using tools to solve some of their basic problems. These animals can pile up blocks to reach food and even use tree branches as tools, according to BBC Earth.
The brain of these animals has also been found to be 3 times bigger than the size of the human brain and because of their complex intellectual power and brain size, it takes time for their brain to develop, thereby taking more time for their overall development, according to BBC Earth.
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