Peggy Tifft, age 12, of Spokane, Washington, for her question:

Is it true an elephant stays pregnant for nine years?

Little Mrs. Field Mouse stays pregnant for about three weeks and Mrs. Raccoon delivers her babies after a waiting period of 63 days. The unborn cubs of the cougar remain inside their mother's body for more than 90 days. This waiting for birth is called the gestation period. During this period the unborn embryos develop into infants, all ready to emerge into the outside world. All animals have a more or less set gestation period. In most cases the waiting period is shorter for small animals and longer for larger animals.

The largest land animal is the mighty elephant and we would expect Mrs. Jumbo's gestation period to be a long one. But surely it is too much to expect the poor mother to wait through nine long years. Actually, her gestation period is about 21 months. She bears one baby and provides him with mother's milk through the first two years of his life. Two years after junior is born, she expects to give birth to another baby.