Nine months and a bit and a bit …

The Elephant has the longest gestation period of any mammal (roughly 22 months). This is longer than larger mammals like whales including the largest of all; the Blue Whale.

Interestingly, the Indian Elephant, which is smaller than the African Elephant has a longer gestation period (mean of 645 and 640 days respectively).

201101-001-585-CR2_PAWW-DC-ZZ000
African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) mother with offspring.

(#61 of 100)