Baby Animals

Fülszöveg

Baby animals appeal to us all. The gangly foal taking its first tottering steps, the kitten or fox cub wide-eyed and innocent, the nestling rabbit with velvet coat all are instantly identifiable as babies. They awaken a strong emotional response in us, because like so many baby animals they share characteristics in common with our own babies. They have large heads and rounded faces with big eyes, chubby cheeks, a small nose and domed forehead, and have a general air of trusting dependence. So baby animals, like our own babies, evoke in us responses of affection and protectiveness. The baby animals that perhaps appeal most strongly to us are those that are closest to ourselves on the family tree. However fierce the grown-up males may be, baby apes and monkeys seem exceptionally lovable, if at times rowdy and mischievous. Baby bears and pandas also endear themselves especially, not only because of their baby shape but because, like our own toddlers they are able to walk upright for a... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Baby animals appeal to us all. The gangly foal taking its first tottering steps, the kitten or fox cub wide-eyed and innocent, the nestling rabbit with velvet coat all are instantly identifiable as babies. They awaken a strong emotional response in us, because like so many baby animals they share characteristics in common with our own babies. They have large heads and rounded faces with big eyes, chubby cheeks, a small nose and domed forehead, and have a general air of trusting dependence. So baby animals, like our own babies, evoke in us responses of affection and protectiveness. The baby animals that perhaps appeal most strongly to us are those that are closest to ourselves on the family tree. However fierce the grown-up males may be, baby apes and monkeys seem exceptionally lovable, if at times rowdy and mischievous. Baby bears and pandas also endear themselves especially, not only because of their baby shape but because, like our own toddlers they are able to walk upright for a few unsteady steps. Few animals care for their young for such a long period as we do. Some babies are born in a relatively advanced state, such as guinea pigs and piglets. They start to experiment at nibbling solid food when only a few days old, and may be weaned at a few weeks. Other babies are born at a relatively early stage of development; such babies need to be kept safe and warm in a nest while their eyes and ears open and their fur grows. But they mature fast, and it is not many weeks before they are venturing out into the world on their own. Most young animals stay with their mother only until the next baby or litter of babies is born; if they have not wandered off on their own by then, the mother usually drives them away. But mother apes. like us. not only feed their babies on milk for up to two years or more, they often have several children of different ages still depending on them. This book is not only a superb collection of pictures of the most appealing baby animals, it is also a fascinating and authoritative account of the family life and biology of the very many different kinds of animals that are so delightfully portrayed. Vissza