Elephants are a huge and an amazing animal. They are very similar to humans in a lot of ways. Let us focus into elephants life cycle and see what some of the similarities and some of the differences are.
Most elephants live in small groups that are lead by the old females. If they are in a place that has a lot of food then some of the groups may join together, but the males generally stick to herds of their own, away from the females. Both the males and the females have two glands that are found between the eye and the ear. This is where a fluid called temporin is released. It does not matter what age or sex the animal is, they all release this fluid.
No matter what age they are, both female and male elephants are able to produce a substance called temporin. This emits a scent that they relate to reproduction. The males go through a period of time called "musth" which is when the temporin that they produce becomes thicker. This is also the primary time frame for mating. With the super sense of smell that they have as compared with many other mammals they can detect this smell with ease.
The amazing sense of smell that they have enables them to know exactly what state they are in when it comes to reproduction. They have a sense of smell that is vastly larger than what we have as humans. This is what enables them to sense the hormones through the air.
When it comes to the life cycle of an elephant, we learn that the female elephant is in a state of pregnancy for anywhere from 18 - 22 months. This is the longest of any mammal on earth. When they have the baby, it weighs over 200 lbs. The baby elephant will use their mouth to get milk from their mother, and continue to nurse for quite some time. The baby elephants can take a long time when it comes to weaning and often they are weaned off due to their mother being unable to tolerate the pokes from the tusks that they have developing.
Continuing through the elephants life cycle we find that the female elephant will continue to have young until they are around 50 years of age. Keep in mind that they are unable to get impregnated again before a minimum 2 years and 6 months after giving birth, and sometimes this can extend to 4 years. Humans do not have to wait this long at all if they do not want to.
As an elephant ages they also are found to develop some of the diseases that are common to humans as they get older. Arthritis and cardiovascular ailments are two in particular that they can find to have as they age. But as we continue through elephants life cycle we see that this does not hinder the length of time that they live. Many of them live until they are at least 70 years old. There are some that die earlier, but a lot of this could be prevented as many of them are killed by illegal poaching that is done in the areas that they live.
Most elephants live in small groups that are lead by the old females. If they are in a place that has a lot of food then some of the groups may join together, but the males generally stick to herds of their own, away from the females. Both the males and the females have two glands that are found between the eye and the ear. This is where a fluid called temporin is released. It does not matter what age or sex the animal is, they all release this fluid.
No matter what age they are, both female and male elephants are able to produce a substance called temporin. This emits a scent that they relate to reproduction. The males go through a period of time called "musth" which is when the temporin that they produce becomes thicker. This is also the primary time frame for mating. With the super sense of smell that they have as compared with many other mammals they can detect this smell with ease.
The amazing sense of smell that they have enables them to know exactly what state they are in when it comes to reproduction. They have a sense of smell that is vastly larger than what we have as humans. This is what enables them to sense the hormones through the air.
When it comes to the life cycle of an elephant, we learn that the female elephant is in a state of pregnancy for anywhere from 18 - 22 months. This is the longest of any mammal on earth. When they have the baby, it weighs over 200 lbs. The baby elephant will use their mouth to get milk from their mother, and continue to nurse for quite some time. The baby elephants can take a long time when it comes to weaning and often they are weaned off due to their mother being unable to tolerate the pokes from the tusks that they have developing.
Continuing through the elephants life cycle we find that the female elephant will continue to have young until they are around 50 years of age. Keep in mind that they are unable to get impregnated again before a minimum 2 years and 6 months after giving birth, and sometimes this can extend to 4 years. Humans do not have to wait this long at all if they do not want to.
As an elephant ages they also are found to develop some of the diseases that are common to humans as they get older. Arthritis and cardiovascular ailments are two in particular that they can find to have as they age. But as we continue through elephants life cycle we see that this does not hinder the length of time that they live. Many of them live until they are at least 70 years old. There are some that die earlier, but a lot of this could be prevented as many of them are killed by illegal poaching that is done in the areas that they live.
About the Author:
South Africa has been Andrew Keet's home for almost fifty years where elephant's are plentiful in many game reserves giving him the chance to watch the elephant's life cycle.
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