The mystery of the elephant’s long pregnancy has been unravelled by scientists.
Elephants are highly sociable mammals with a high level of intelligence similar to that of great apes and dolphins.
They have the longest-known gestational period of any animal, lasting up to 680 days.
Elephants are born with an advanced level of brain development, which they use to recognise the complex social structure of the herd and to feed themselves with their dextrous trunks.
Until now, the biological processes behind the mammal’s marathon pregnancy has not been fully understood.
