African elephant Gestation Period: How Long Is a African elephant Pregnant?

How long is a african elephant pregnant?

A african elephant carries her calf for an average of 645 days, or about 21 months. Counting from the breeding date, calving is normal anywhere from day 640 to day 660.

Key checkpoints across the 645-day african elephant gestation, measured in days from breeding:

Estimate your african elephant's calving date

Enter the breeding date for an estimated calving date at 645 days.

African elephant gestation stages, month by month

Signs a african elephant is pregnant

• Hormone monitoring of faeces or urine gives the earliest reliable confirmation
• Ultrasound in managed care confirms and tracks the calf from mid gestation
• Visible broadening of the abdomen in the final six months
• Mammary glands between the front legs enlarge in the last weeks

Signs of approaching calving

• A sharp drop in progesterone two to five days before birth
• Restlessness, reduced feeding and attendant females staying close in the final hours
• Contact your vet if labour stalls, if the animal strains without progress, or if there is abnormal discharge before calving begins.

What affects african elephant gestation length

• At about 645 days — close to 22 months — the African elephant has the longest gestation of any land mammal.
• Calves are born at roughly 100 to 120 kg and can stand within an hour, because a newborn that cannot keep up with a moving herd does not survive.
• The long gestation supports extraordinary brain development: elephant calves are born with a brain around 35 percent of its adult size and a lifetime of social learning ahead.
• The single most reliable birth predictor in managed care is the sharp fall in progesterone about two to five days beforehand — no visual sign comes close.
• Females typically calve once every four to five years, and other females in the herd (allomothers) help raise and protect the calf.
• African elephants have no fixed breeding season, but conception peaks in the wet season when body condition and food supply are best.

African elephant gestation chart

Every fifth breeding date across the year with the matching calving date, calculated at 645 days. Find the row closest to the date the african elephant was served; because normal gestation spans 640 to 660 days, plan for a window of a few days either side. Filter by month, or print the chart for the barn wall or breeding record: navigation, buttons and adverts are hidden on paper.

Sources for african elephant gestation figures

Figures on this page are drawn from zoo elephant reproduction programmes, endocrine monitoring studies and field research on wild African elephant populations, and checked against the references below. Averages describe healthy animals under normal management; individual animals vary, and nothing here replaces advice from your vet.

• Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) — species husbandry and animal care manuals
• Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute — species fact sheets
• Published zoological studies of captive births