So, what’s an elephant mom doing during all that time? Grazing. A lot of grazing. She’s basically a walking, trumpeting buffet for one.
She also gets really, really protective. You don’t mess with a pregnant elephant, or you’ll get a trunk full of attitude. They develop serious momma bear energy—except momma bear energy is just a warm-up for momma elephant energy.
The herd helps, of course. Other female elephants, the aunties and grandmas, form a circle around her. They act like a giant, wrinkly support group. They’ll even help deliver the baby, using their trunks to gently pull the calf out.
