It’s always an incredible moment when a baby comes into the world, whether it’s a baby human or whether it’s a baby animal. Some of course come out looking a lot cuter than others, while there are some babies that pop out and you think, that’s a face only a mother could love! We have a look at some of the cutest, more unusual baby animals today.
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10 – New-born lizards…
These are active little guys that look like a mini version of their parents. They’re quite independent from birth and can survive without mom the moment they enter the world. Their diet is the same as an adult lizard if it’s small enough to fit in its tiny mouth hole! Like their parents, they can heal quickly, and they like to bury themselves into the ground to protect themselves at night.
9 – The European hedgehog infant…
They don’t have the most incredible name for their babies, either they’re called “young” or “baby” hedgehogs. Larger species of hedgehog will have between 4 and 5 young, and smaller species between 5 and 7. It’s quite common for the father to suffocate or hurt his new-borns. The young are born blind and over 7- hours after birth, the membrane covering their eyes dries up and falls off, enabling the baby to see for the first time.
8 – Hippopotamus baby…
These round, rather large water-loving animals are found across Africa, and as cute and cuddly as what they appear, they are exceptionally dangerous. They claim the lives of roughly 3,000 people every year. They are ready to mate from 6-years old and are pregnant for 8-months. Babies are born underwater and must swim straight away to the surface to fill their lungs with oxygen. Usually only one is born, but there have been cases of twins before. Moms are super protective of their young, so best keep your distance.
7 – Baby wombat…
In true Australian style, we’re exposed to another unusual critter called a wombat. These rotund marsupials are different to other marsupials as their pouch points backwards. The reason is that mother wombats dig a lot, so it wouldn’t be an ideal set-up if the sand was being flicked into the baby’s face and the pouch. Babies are called Joey’s and moms give birth to just one baby every spring. The gestation period is 20-21 days and the babies are only weaned after 15-months. Did you know a group of wombats is called a wisdom?
6 – Baby Humboldt Penguins…
These penguins from Chili and Peru look slightly different to other penguins in that they are slightly thinner. These are highly threatened penguins and it’s believed there are between 3,000 and 12,000 left in the world. Because the penguins live in colonies, they are highly sociable birds. Its been known that some penguins will adopt or sit on other eggs if anything has happened to the parents. All penguins will incubate the eggs, the only penguin who doesn’t do that is the Emperor penguin where the man does the sitting. Penguins generally lay one brood a season.
5 – Baby Pika…
Pika’s are quite small mammals that are related to the rabbit. They live in the mountains of Asia and prefer the rocky slopes and some live at heights of 2,000 feet. They like wild grass, flowers and stems and store their food in burrows to tide them over when they’re experiencing their very long, cold winters. They tend to have litters of around 5 and the gestation period is 25-30 days.
4 – Baby Echidna’s…
This adorable fellow is a baby echidna, sometimes called spiny anteaters. These solitary animals are native to South America, and the female lays one soft, leathery egg at a time. The baby has an egg tooth which it uses to break the shell. Babies are called puggles and they stay with their mom for a year before heading out on their own.
3 – Baby Otters…
There are 13 species of otters, and all their babies are adorable. Otter moms have been known to adopt pups that have lost their own mom and are very protective of their young. A group of otters is called a romp, and they love to dine on fish. Gestation period is between 60 and 86 days and the whole family take care of the new-born. It takes a month before a pup can leave the holt and 2 months before they can swim. Otters stay with their family for up to 12-months.
2 – Baby Rabbit…
Like our baby parrots featured earlier, baby rabbits are most certainly nothing to look at when they’re born. They’re hairless, their eyes are sealed, and the mother doesn’t care for them right away. Baby rabbits are called kits and there’s usually 12-13 kits in each litter. The mom gives her kits milk and fortunately it’s not too long before they start growing their fluffy fur that we’ve grown to love.
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