Compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, human moms have rather long gestation periods, but other animal mothers go much longer. Although the size of the offspring is sometimes a deciding factor, not all protracted gestations result in large progeny. Here is our ranking of the creatures with the longest gestation durations.
Elephants
Elephants carry their babies for 18 to 22 months before giving birth, making them the mammals with the longest gestation periods.
Highly intelligent animals frequently go through lengthy maturation stages. Elephants have a lot of development to do in the womb because they are the world’s largest living mammal and have the biggest brains.
Manatees
A large manatee’s pregnancy may not be obvious from the way it looks, but this gentle behemoth carries its babies for almost 13 months.
A manatee mother is to be commended for her patience, even though lounging in the water all day helps to reduce some of the additional weight.
Camels
Although camels are renowned for their obstinate and gruff attitudes, remember that they give birth after 13 to 15 months of gestation.
The month of conception might affect the birthday; conceptions in November put the due date back 18 days compared to those in May.
The gestation cycle of other camelids, including llamas, is lengthy as well, lasting roughly 330 days (11 months).
Giraffes
Giraffe gestation lasts between 400 and 460 days (13 to 15 months).
The infant must be big enough to brace for a lengthy fall because the mother gives birth standing up despite being the tallest land animal in the world. (Interestingly, the embryonic sac usually ruptures due to the fall.)
The fact that there are lions and other predators nearby makes the world a perilous place for newborn giraffes, which is one of the causes of the protracted delay.
Velvet Worm
Large mammals are not the only species having lengthy gestation periods. The velvet worm is one of several worm-like creatures that give birth to live young. This odd-looking animal may carry its pups for up to 15 months.
Despite their name, neither they are real worms nor are they composed of velvet. They appear velvety because their bodies are coated in sensory hairs.
They are particularly fascinating to paleontologists since they are regarded as near cousins of both genuine worms, such as the earthworm, and arthropods (spiders and insects).
Rhinoceros
Given their enormous size, it may not be surprising that rhinos, whose gestation periods range from 15 to 18 months depending on the species, are next on the list.
The population renewal process is hampered by this lengthy gestation time. Three of the five rhinoceros species are classified as highly endangered, while all five are either endangered or vulnerable.
