Researchers solve mystery of long elephant pregnancy

(Phys.org) -- For years biologists have puzzled over how it is that elephants are able to maintain such long pregnancies, which typically run to nearly two years. While many theories have been tossed around, no one really knew. Now a team of researchers working out of research centers in Canada and Germany have finally solved the mystery. As they write in their paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, elephants are able to carry their young so long because they create more of the temporary glands that monitor hormone levels during ovulation and pregnancy.

Read the whole article on Physorg

More from Physorg