2 weeks and 3 years: how long does pregnancy last in different animals

There is a saying “breeds like a cat”. This means that she gives birth very quickly and often. But in fact, cats are not at all record holders in terms of reproduction. Their pregnancy lasts an average of nine weeks. Cats can produce offspring a maximum of three times a year. But veterinarians say that it is better for the health of purrs to give birth all the same once a year. In dogs, pregnancy lasts about the same – on average 58 – 70 days. But there are real champions in the animal world. We have collected 10 of the most unusual animals in terms of bearing offspring.

This is also a cat, only a marsupial. In general, marsupials with pregnancies have a curious story: they give birth not to babies, but to embryos, which may weigh less than a gram and barely reach a centimeter in length. Their pregnancy can last only eight days! The marsupial marten carries cubs for 11 days, and gives birth to up to 24 babies at a time. And even in kangaroos, the largest marsupials, a baby is born a maximum of 40 days after conception. Then the embryo crawls into the pouch, clings to the nipple and there it “ripens” to relative independence. By the way, kangaroos generally know how to work miracles – they know how to “freeze” pregnancy. If suddenly the female realizes that there is not enough food, water, conditions are unfavorable, the previous baby has not yet grown, she decides: it is not time to reproduce. The development of the embryo freezes, and then resumes when conditions permit.

A tiny mouse, what to expect from it. Her life expectancy ranges from two to five years, with a maximum of eight years. Therefore, you need to multiply as quickly as possible. Gerbil pregnancy lasts 25 days, mice are born blind and naked, but after a month they turn into independent individuals. Unlike marsupials, which after birth are worn out in a bag for several months, gerbils give birth 4-7 times a year, each time bringing 5-6 babies.

The elephant gives birth to cubs on average four times in her life. Less than other people. But their pregnancy lasts much longer than ours, although life expectancy is comparable. The elephant carries cubs for 22 months – almost two years! Just imagine – passing a pregnant woman 660 days instead of 280, as usual for people. That is why elephants do not give birth more than four times. Would you like to spend eight years of your life only on pregnancy?

Giraffes are not to be envied either. They go pregnant for 400 to 460 days. More than a year. In addition, the calf is born quite large, about 180 centimeters in height and weighing about 68 kilograms. That is, the size of an adult thin man. Moreover, giraffes give birth while standing, so that the cubs fall to the ground from a height of about the same 180 centimeters. It is during the fall that the amniotic membrane bursts and the little giraffe gets out into the light.

In these pinnipeds, pregnancy lasts 15 to 16 months. Just imagine, splashing in icy water for 450 days, getting food from the bottom of the brutally cold sea, and then giving birth in the same environment. Maybe that’s why walruses have the lowest speed of reproduction among pinnipeds? We would not be in a hurry if we were in their place. Walrus children bring up children up to two or three years. And protects him even at the cost of his own life. Moreover, for the first six months, the walrus is breastfed, he has no teeth. Everything is like people.

Or, as they are also called, killer whales. They are really very aggressive predators. Killer whales hatch cubs for a long 17 months, or even all 19. And all because the babies of killer whales are not babies at all. Kittens are born weighing up to 160 kilograms, and newborns reach 2,5 meters in length. Yes, you can’t grow such a beast quickly. In total, the female gives birth to a maximum of six times during her life. By the way, dolphins also swim pregnant for quite a long time – from 10 to 18 months. It is curious that their cubs do not sleep at all for the first month of life. If they fall asleep, they can suffocate: they do not yet have a reflex that makes dolphins rise to the surface for air.

These thick-skinned animals bear young for 450 days, or 15 – 18 months. Due to this slow reproduction, rhinos are constantly under threat of extinction. However, this reason is secondary, the main one is that people systematically destroy rhinos. The female rhinoceros gives birth to only one baby, whom she takes care of for the next 2,5 years, until he becomes independent. And if during this time another baby is born, then the older one is kicked out by the mother – for a while or forever.

Common camels carry babies for 13-14 months. On average, 410 days. Representatives of such a variety of camels as llamas go pregnant for about 330 days – almost a year, but compared to other large mammals, this is not a period at all. Newborn camels stand on their feet by the end of the first day of life. But on breastfeeding they spend another long six months, only then “complementary foods” appear in their lives – plant food, usual for camels. The camel will become completely independent only in a year or two.

These animals look like a strange mixture of a pig and an anteater, but in fact they are a close relative of horses and rhinos. Though you can’t tell right away. A pregnant female tapir walks almost as much as a rhinoceros – 13 months. Baby tapirs are called calves, which is even stranger, because they are not related to cows. Newborn tapirs are painted with bright white and brown stripes. This color protects them from the attack of predators, ideally masking them in the grass. But after a few months, they become the same color as their parents. And just as fast to get away from predators.

To be sure, a black alpine salamander. This is generally a wonderful animal. Someone will call them insects, but they will be wrong. Salamanders are amphibians that live in the Alps and are viviparous. Their pregnancy can last up to three years! The duration of the period depends on the height at which the amphibian lives. As a rule, two almost completely independent individuals are born.

These are very strange animals. In fact, these are not mammals, not viviparous, they are very large fish. But they do not spawn, unlike their small relatives. They prefer to give birth to 5 – 6 individuals, but strong and viable. The shark lays an egg in the oviduct and carries it with it until the embryo develops to a sufficient level of maturity. And this may happen in two years, or maybe in three and a half. Three and a half years! Boggles the mind! This is the longest period among vertebrates. As a result, sharks 40-60 centimeters long are born.