Oh Baby!

I don’t know what inspired it, but this week is all about babies! Enjoy these 13 facts about various baby animals and the pictures that make you go “awwww”.

1. Baby pandas weigh only 4 ounces (130 grams) which is 1/900th of their parents’ weight of about 350 pounds (135 kgs).

2. Kangaroos are born reeeeeally tiny. They crawl from the birth canal into their mother’s pouch where it nurses. It will use the mother’s pouch for up to 18 months.

3. Aardvarks are typically clumsy with poor eyesight so this little bundle was watched closely so his mother wouldn’t inadvertantly injure him. And yes … they are born hairless.

4.  Grizzly bears are born blind and without fur. They have between one and 4 siblings at birth. They stay with their mothers approximately 2 years though they aren’t considered full grown until they are 11.

5. Giraffes are born live and this poor little thing had to survive a 6 foot drop at birth … ouch!

6. I couldn’t resist this picture. But there’s nothing really interesting to mention about chickens. Perhaps that you can hypnotize a chicken by drawing lines in the dirt… no? How about castrated male chickens are called capons… still nothing? I know … a female chicken can lay up to 265 table eggs a year… that didn’t do it? Well, I got nothin’. Let’s hope the picture makes you smile …

7. Elephants are pregnant for 22 months and they give birth to babies that weigh 200 pounds. Female babies stay in the herd for their whole lives, but males strike out on their own around 12 years of age. Baby elephants have been known to suck their trunks like babies suck their thumbs.

8. Koalas are marsupials which means their little babies (called Joeys) are born the size of a jelly bean and must make their way to the mother’s pouch where it attaches to one of her two teats and lives for up to 6 months. During the weaning process the mother produces special poop which the baby eats like soft baby food until it is ready to eat eucalyptus leaves … oh yummy!  

9. These little white tigers are not very common. They are born to white tiger parents only about 25% of the time. These little things weighed only 4 pounds at birth. All white tigers born in captivity come from a tiger names Mohan.

10. Polar bears are born after 9 months of pregnancy where they have between 1 and 4 babies. The babies will remain with their mothers for 2 years. Since the mother doesn’t feed during gestation she can loose up to 700 pounds… that’s a heck of a diet program!  

11. Bunnies are pregnant for only 36 days. A cat’s is closer to 65. A rabbit stands to nurse her young while a cat lies down. Baby bunnies only nurse once or twice a day whereas kittens nurse numerous times throughout the day.

12. I have no idea what species of monkeys these are, but they were just so darn cute I couldn’t resist! All I know about monkeys is that they’re born alive to mothers who give birth to one baby every 2 years. Babies are weaned at about 10 weeks, but remain close to their mothers for up to a year.

13. Raccoon babies are born in litters of 2 to 7 babies and are called “kits”. After they are weaned from their mother’s milk, they will eat almost anything … including your trash. So keep those lids tight on your garbage containers!

And of course … what would a Thursday be if I didn’t show some male babies all grown up?