What’s the difference between elephant and human child development?

What’s the difference between elephant and human child development?

As we celebrate the birth of the Louisville Zoo’s new elephant calf, we take a look at how human child development differs from elephants.

Story by: Kim Huston on October 17, 2019

We love babies of all kinds at Norton Children’s. Mikki, the Louisville Zoo’s 33-year-old African elephant, gave birth Aug. 2 to a bull calf. Mikki’s pregnancy lasted 22 months (651 days). The soon-to-be named calf measured 98 cm (3 feet 2 inches) tall, 77 cm (2 feet, 5 inches) long (body, head to tail) and 198 cm (6 feet, 5 inches) from the tip of its trunk to the tip of its tail at birth. The calf weighed 275 pounds when he was two days old. The 2-month-old calf will soon have a name, through a contest presented by Norton Children’s. As we celebrate the second elephant born at the Louisville Zoo in the zoo’s 50-year history, we ask: How does child development stack up to that of an elephant?

How human babies and elephant babies are different

Let’s take a look at how human babies and elephant calves are different by the numbers.

Elephants

  • 22 months: The average gestation, or pregnancy length, for an elephant
  • 200 to 250 pounds:The average weight of an elephant calf at birth
  • 3 feet:The average height of an elephant calf at birth
  • 2 to 3 pounds: Amount of weight elephant calves gain each day
  • 3 gallons:Amount of milk a calf will suckle from its mother each day
  • 4 months old: Age calves begin eating other solid foods, such as plants
  • 6 to 8 months: Age when elephant calves begin controlling their trunks to be able to use them to drink, eat, grasp and bathe
  • Almost immediately after birth:Age when elephants can stand up and walk, as they need to do so to nurse and stay close to their mother and herd

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Humans

  • 38 to 41 weeks:Average length of a human pregnancy
  • 5 pounds:Average birth weight of a newborn baby (5.5 to 10 pounds is considered in the healthy range)
  • 19 to 20 inches:Average length for a full-term baby at birth (normal range is 18 to 22 inches)
  • 7 ounces:Weight a typical newborn baby gains each day
  • 12 to 36 ounces: Amount of milk a newborn baby drinks a day (based on a child’s weight, feeding schedule, hunger)
  • 6 months old: Age most babies begin eating some solid foods
  • 7 months old: Age most babies are able to stand
  • 8 to 12 months: Age babies begin to start crawling and walking