If you think some people look perfect when they’re pregnant, wait until you see moms from the animal kingdom before they’re about to pop. They’re just precious. Bored Panda has compiled a list of unique maternity pics that might just melt your heart. Keep scrolling for a glimpse of bulging bellies and a deep dive into how pregnancies differ from species to species. “We speculate that this ability ‘to keep up’ may underpin why elephants have the longest gestation period [pregnancy] of any mammal in order to facilitate an advanced state of foetal physical development, and may have evolved to help elephant herds stay together,” the lead author, Dr Lucy Taylor from the University of Oxford is quoted as saying. According to the the Wildlife Center of Virginia, “after two months, baby opossums open their eyes, and after a couple more weeks, start to emerge from the pouch and ride around on their mother’s back.” Opossums are only independent when they reach about four months old. The researchers described seahorse courtship as an elaborate process. “Males open and fill their pouch with water by bending forward and contracting their bodies to force water into the pouch, before ‘dancing’ with the female. Similarly, during labour, male seahorses bend their body towards the tail, pressing and then relaxing. This ‘pressing’ behaviour is accompanied by brief gaping of the pouch opening, with a series of whole-body jerks.” All of this allows seawater to flush through the pouch. And boom! Up to two thousand babies are born. Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! Please use high-res photos without watermarks Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
