Question

The gestation period of elephant is about
A. 11 months
B. 15 months
C. 22 months
D. 32 months

Answer 1

Hint: Gestation period is the period of the development of an embryo while carrying inside the viviparous animals. It typically occurs in mammals, but also occurs in some non-mammals. Mammals can have one or more gestation at one time during the pregnancy in the case of multiple births.

Complete answer:
In the case of mammals the pregnancy begins when a zygote implants in the female uterus and ends once the fetus leaves the uterus while giving birth. The development phase of the zygote is carried inside the body of mother in viviparous animals and the time taken for the development is called gestation period. There are various other factors which determine the gestation period in an animal as some gave birth before and some after the average gestation period.
Smaller animals have a shorter gestation period compared to large animals which have a longer gestation period. Cats are small animals and have a gestation period of 2 months whereas large animals like elephants have an average gestation period of 640-660 days or 95 weeks roughly. This makes elephants the longest gestation mammal which has an average gestation period of 22 months.

Hence, the correct option is C. 22 months.

Note: Gestation period does not remain the same with all animals of the same species as it depends on various other factors as well. Some animals give birth to young one before and some after the average gestation period as other factors play an important role in it.