Gestational times for
different animals

The BRAIN magazine

The average time it takes for a placental or marsupial baby to develop in the mother’s uterus is linked to the size of the animal.

Compared with placental animals, marsupial babies are born underdeveloped as they migrate to a pouch to develop.

Human – 270 days

Elephant – 640 days

Sperm whale – 535 days

Giraffe – 430 days

Horse – 336 days

Dolphin – 318 days

Chimpanzee – 240 days

Grizzly bear – 215 days

Sheep – 148 days

Lion – 108 days

Dogs and cats – 60 days

Guinea pig – 65 days

Kangaroo – 42 days

Wombat – 27 days

Rabbit – 33 days

Mouse – 20 days

Photo by Minnie Zhou on Unsplash

Photo by Minnie Zhou on Unsplash

Image: sdbower / Adobe Stock

Image: sdbower / Adobe Stock

Image: Stanislav / Adobe Stock

Image: Stanislav / Adobe Stock

Image: David_Steele / Adobe Stock

Image: David_Steele / Adobe Stock