how ;long do the mother elephants carry their children
A female elephant will have a single baby (called a calf) every four or five years. Calves are born 85 cm (33 in) tall and weigh around 120 kg (260 lb). An elephant's gestation lasts about 22 months. Another female elephant often stays with the new mother until its baby is born. The newborn elephant can often stand within a half hour after it is born. Mother elephants touch their babies gently with their trunks. It takes a baby a year or more to control its trunk and learn its many uses. Baby elephants nurse for the first two years of their lives. After it is born, the first thing that the baby does is wobble in search of its mother's milk. It drinks about 10 liters of milk every day.