10 Animal Facts About Pregnancy

Fact Number one.

Armadillos are capable of putting their pregnancy on hold
while they await for the perfect conditions, mostly like bears. The babies are
often born around eight months after conception, but gestation only takes about
four months.

Fact Number 2.

Up to 23 months elephants gestate, it is the longest period
for any animal of land. They give birth of the biggest newborn babies too at
nearly 230 pounds.

Fact Number 3.

In many ways Chimpanzees are like human, including birth.
Infants emerge facing away from their mother, a fact led anthropologists to
debunk the idea that humans have the unique need for assistance while giving
birth.

Fact Number 4.

The pregnancies of Dolphin last mostly a year. At the end
the mothers are weighed down much that they drag 50 percent more than their
non-pregnant buddies.

Fact Number 5.

Opossums have it the easiest. Their pregnancies only last 14
days. They then carry infants around in their pouch for two or three months
following birth.

Fact Number six.

It’s not full 101 Dalmatians, but the Guinness World Record
for most puppies in a litter was still quite a handful when a Neapolitan
mastiff gave birth to 24 baby puppies in 2004.

Fact Number seven.

While octopuses don’t technically give birth, their
reproduction process is still pretty remarkable. The males supply females with
packets of their sperm, which the female hangs on to until she is ready to
fertilize the 2 lakhs (200000) eggs she is produced. After laying the eggs, she
stays close by to nurture and protect them.

Fact Number Eight.

Under water, frilled sharks beat elephants’ record pregnancy
lengths with their incredibly slow-growing babies. Their embryos' grow at a
rate of about half an inch per month, which makes the full term around 3 and a
half years.

Fact Number nine.

Guinea pigs have one of the shortest biological clocks in
the animal kingdom and are able to get pregnant at just 4 weeks old. They don’t
wait long after giving birth, either; most sows go into heat 2-15 hours after
their litter is born.

Fact Number Ten.

For seahorses, it’s all about the dad. Females hand over
their unfertilized eggs to males who protect them for several weeks, then birth
to anywhere from 5-1,500 hatchling, with the average around 200.