To feel sorry for pregnant elephants

[ICanSeeTheSun]

22 months of pregnancy, and the labour has got to be painful. Baby elephants are not small.

Watching a documentary ATM which has been on my planner for months about this.

Amazing 4d scan though

[ICanSeeTheSun]

They also get no privacy as for protection the herd forms a circle.

[Ronmione]

I watched an elephant give birth on the tv the other day. She was obviously in a lot if pain. Once she gave birth the keepers rushed in and lifted her foot and pulled the baby out of the way in case she stepped on him. She just looked so bewildered.

[thebodydoestricks]

Mind you though it's like for like isn't it?

I mean elephants most have large foo foos and they are great parents.

Personally after 4 massive babies mine is pretty well battered.

[breatheslowly]

They probably aren't bothered about not being allowed soft cheese and wine for 22 months.

[EggcupGoddess]

I feel even more sorry for hyenas... they have to give birth through their clitorises.

[27onesies]

I would love a 22 month long pregnancy however I would not want to give birth to a baby equivalent to the size of a baby elephant.

[ICanSeeTheSun]

Eggcup, I have my legs closed after reading your post.

[Ohbyethen]

It's the drop that gets me. I can't decide if giraffes are worse or not but it's just Wheee, splat - and then they're up. Boggles me every time I see it.

I quite like being able to suspend pregnancy though - sorry, it's a really bad time for me right now, check back next year. Would have been very handy.

[CloverHeart]

I had to google Hyena Clitoris for clarity....(MN will be to thank if the PC ever have to dredge through my bizarre search history)

Ouch though!!!

[schlurplethepurple]

I wonder how big Elephants vaginas are?

[OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat]

Don't know how true it is, but I once read that animals that walk on all fours have a lot easier time giving birth than humans (and apes?) because of a different pelvic arrangement.

I suppose one thing in the elephants favour is that they normally only have one offspring at a time(?), whereas things like cats and dogs normally have a litter of several.

[ICanSeeTheSun]

m.youtube.com/watch?v=8rjs5Cup3ZA

Very interesting.

[puntasticusername]

Whoah, whoah, whoah, Eggcup.

They do WHAT?

[RhondaJean]

Never mind an elephant giving birth, I saw a nature programme about elephants mating once and it scarred me for life.

[FraidyCat]

I saw a nature programme about elephants mating once and it scarred me for life.

I've seen an Elephant penis in real life, here is a youtube clip that will explain it better than I can.

[ScrambledEggAndToast]

They showed a giraffe giving birth on TV a while ago. Not sure how long the pregnancy is but the baby was 6 foot tall and she made it look very easy

[ScrambledEggAndToast]

Bloody hell, that elephant's penis

[ZenGardener]

22 months pregnancy is hard but that birth seemed pretty easy. I screamed like a banshee when I gave birth, it was awful. I read humans have it tougher than other animals due to our large heads.

[specialsubject]

wow, that was all done on a big scale! Hell of a fall, too...

but baby elephants are adorable from the start, which it has to be said baby humans are not.

[puntasticusername]

Yep. Large heads, pelvises adapted for walking upright, and we usually expect giving birth to be hugely painful. Baaaaad combination.

[squishysquirmy]

On a documentary I saw once, all the other nosy female elephants gathered round the newborn and got in the way of it trying to suckle from it's mother, who had to chase themm away.... Kinda reminded me of all those mumsnet threads about hoardes of visitors trying to descend on new mums.

[squishysquirmy]

Eggcup, that hyena thing is nasty.

[puntasticusername]

squishy Ooh, to have been an elephant at those times!

"No thankyou, you will not continue to hold the calf when he needs feeding, or I will bitch-slap you upside the head with my fucking TRUNK...if you have really come to HELP, as you say, you can go and clean out the waterhole and pick me a nice pile of sugar cane for tea. Now bugger off before I SIT on you".