The average human pregnancy is 40 weeks. This gives mums enough time to come up with a name, collect everything for the baby and get the nursery ready. However, there are representatives of the animal world who carry their young in the stomach from several weeks to one and a half years.
Possum, 12 days
The possum species, known as the Virginia possum, have the shortest gestation period in the animal kingdom. Imagine having to come up with your baby’s name in less than 2 weeks.
Guinea pig, 60 days
A guinea pig gestation lasts 59 to 72 days, resulting in 1 to 8 fluffy pups in a litter.
Cat, 63 days
A cat can become pregnant as early as at the age of 4 months.
Dogs, 65 days
A dog’s pregnancy depends on its size, breed and age. Besides, the larger the dog is, the more puppies it has.
Raccoon, 65 days
The typical mating season for raccoons is winter, so they can give birth in spring. Pregnancy lasts a bit more than 2 months.
Tiger, 110 days
Tigers have a gestation period of about 16 weeks. When the cubs are born, they are blind. Moreover, the cubs depend heavily on their mother for the first 2 months before they start eating solid food.
Pig, 115 days
Pigs can give birth to up to 10 piglets twice a year. Just imagine 20 babies are born in 365 days! Oh, my God!
Panda, 135 days
One of the reasons pandas are an endangered species is that they cannot reproduce as quickly as other animals. They usually only give birth to one cub at a time, every 2 years.
Lemur, 135 days
There are over 100 different types of lemurs. Ring-tailed lemurs usually mate in April and give birth to 1-2 cubs in summer. Their pregnancy lasts a bit more than 4 months.
Bear, 220 days
Bears are rarely together, unless it is mating season. They give birth to the cubs at the beginning of the year from January to February. Cubs stay with their mothers until they are 2-3 years old.
Seal, 280 days
Like humans, seals’ pregnancy lasts for about 9 months. However, seals can remain pregnant for up to 11 months.
Horse, 365 days
By the time a mare is ready to give birth, its cub is about 10% of its weight. This means that a foal can weigh up to 100 lbs (45 kg!
Beluga, 425 days
The female beluga whale usually gives birth to 1 cub every 2-3 years.
Giraffe, 465 days
When the giraffe gives birth, the baby falls directly to the ground from a height of over 5 feet (1.5 meters).
Walrus, 600 days
Although walruses live in large groups, mating takes place privately underwater. At birth, the cub can weigh about 130 lbs (60 kg).
Elephant, 665 days
Elephants’ pregnancy lasts the whole 95 weeks! This is more than double that of a human pregnancy. Because of this, elephants give birth to about 4 elephants during their life.
