However, even with 2010's 13 hatchlings, it will take a long time to see a substantial boost in numbers because each Siamese crocodile takes at least 15 years to reach sexual maturity.

BBC: A Fauna & Flora project hopes to save a rare crocodile

She explained that female African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are able to give birth from about 10-12 years but males did not reach sexual maturity until the age of 25-30 years.

BBC: Early life care shapes African elephants' future

Among the species threatened by bottom fishing is the orange roughy, which lives for more than a century and takes decades to reach sexual maturity: in those gloomy depths, creatures aren't used to sudden events.

ECONOMIST: Marine conservation

The scientists believe the varying lengths are explained by the fact that millipedes continue to grow additional segments and legs even after they have reached sexual maturity - so the 750-legged millipede found in 1926 may have been an older specimen.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | Most leggy millipede rediscovered

Young children are facing situations that require maturity and the ability to discuss sexual issues confidently, yet as adults many of us are embarrassed to talk about them.

BBC: 'Cultural views affect STI rates'

Song writers from the period showed a remarkable degree of maturity in trying to capture what the new transience in sexual relationships actually meant.

FORBES: Sex and Love and The Business of "I Do"