Gestating for 22 months- luteal development and pregnancy maintenance in elephants. Elephants are born with highly developed brains. Marathon pregnancy. Elephants need complex neural development to survive from day one of birth. Declining populations. Published 14 May Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:. Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative.
Advanced search. Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature. Download PDF. Subjects Behavioural ecology Evolution. Humans are not alone in having infants that emerge facing backwards.
You have full access to this article via your institution. Chimps and humans have much in common, inlcuding the way they give birth. References 1 Hirata, S. Authors Joseph Milton View author publications. Worldwide, elephant populations are dwindling rapidly due to organised crime and the ivory trade.
The problem of declining elephant populations is exacerbated by their reproduction cycles. They have a long gap between calves years and — unlike other animals — usually only have one baby at a time. Zoological breeding programs play an important role in elephant conservation, but adult male elephants who are reproductively active can behave unpredictably — and sometimes there are problems finding a suitable mate.
For some time, the process that creates such remarkably intelligent animals was something of a mystery. But advances in ultrasound technology over the last couple of decades has meant scientists have been able to take a closer look.
One important piece of research was published in , following the study of seventeen African and Asian elephants at zoos in the UK, Canada, the US, Australia, and Germany. Studies have found that the elephant has a unique cycle of ovulation and an extended pregnancy due to a hormonal mechanism not seen in any other species of animal. This knowledge of how the pregnancy is maintained is invaluable to conservation efforts, both in the wild and in zoos.
In order to be ready, scientists look out for the first LH surge, by checking hormone levels via weekly blood samples, or by measuring hormone metabolites excreted in urine and faeces. This is key to survival: the more diverse the gene pool, the healthier, and more stable the population becomes. It also means no animal has to be transported and so the female can stay with her herd, which is very important for elephants.
Breeding Chimpanzees breed all year round, whenever one of the females in the troop comes into season. Read More: Chimpanzees and Humans. Gorilla Factsheet. Orangutan Factsheet.
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