Baby Animal Cartoon Pictures Wallpaper Clipart Images free 2013: Types Of Baby Animals Free Pictures Images Photos Wallpaper Clipart 2013

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Types Of Baby Animals Free Pictures Images Photos Wallpaper Clipart 2013

Types Of Baby Animals Definition

Source(google.com.pk)
Visit a wide variety of unique spots in the world as many different types of baby animals are shown playing in their natural habitats. In Africa, the cameras capture footage of young cheetahs playing together. In another location, viewers get to see a baby fur seal being born. Elsewhere, playful baby gorillas, wolf pups and brown bear cubs are seen putting their parents to the test as they behave in frisky ways. Other featured animals include white pelican chicks, a baby bison and foxes. Find out how these babies learn to eventually take care of themselves, hunt for food and later reproduce with others in the wild. ~ Elizabeth Smith, Rovi While still in their mother’s uterus, sand tiger shark embryos develop teeth–and an appetite. The largest of the babies in each of the sharks’ two uteruses attacks and eats its smaller siblings, leaving just two pups to be born.

It’s a particularly gruesome and extreme example of siblicide, the killing of one’s siblings, and the a rare form of cannibalism within the womb. And yet the practice of cannibalism itself, once thought to be an aberrant behavior, actually isn’t as rare in nature as we might like to believe.

Animals usually avoid cannibalism, but not because of any ethical or moral imperative; although consuming the flesh of one’s species mates offers a useful source of nutrients, it is also likely to contribute to the spread of pathogens, and, therefore disease. However, a number of studies over the past decade have revealed that cannibalism is surprisingly widespread across the animal kingdom. Groups that occasionally eat members of their own species range from lowly protozoa, slime molds, and sea slugs to insects, spiders, fish, reptiles (including dinosaurs; dinosaur bones have been found bearing the teeth marks of their kind), amphibians, birds, and at least 100 species of mammals, such as hamsters, rats, squirrels, bats, seals and sea lions, otters, polar and grizzly bears, lions, tigers, and chimpanzees. Researchers in New Zealand have even found the remains of a giant squid tentacle within the stomach of another giant squid-evidence that it either ate its compatriot, or accidentally ingested itself. Either option, scientists say, is cannibalism.Like sib-eating sand tiger sharks, birds such as the bearded vulture and the northern goshawk have been observed eating their nest-mates. Other species, especially fish, eat their own young. For example, egg-eating is rampant among male fish guarding egg nests. Researchers have found that while the nests often contain eggs sired by other dads, the fish aren’t terribly discriminating in the eggs they munch, which means they’re often eating their own babies. It may be worthwhile to the fish, experts suggest, because the nutrients supplied by the eggs improves their odds of producing viable eggs and offspring in the future, which increases their lifetime reproductive fitness. Alternatively, the practice may perpetuate because it has a “neutral” effect, neither harming nor helping the lifetime reproductive success of the animal. Egg-eating may simply be a behavior that can occasionally come in handy.

Among small mammals like hamsters, mice, and rats, mothers often do the eating; after delivering a litter of pups, a new mom may realize that food and water are scarce, and will kill and eat her litter for self-preservation. Cannibalism can also occur to cull a an overly large litter, or when the animals are stressed. In many animal species including snakes, stillborn or deformed babies are often immediately consumed by their mother, which lets her get back at least some of the energy investment she put into her pregnancy (while also protecting any viable babies from being exposed to diseases from sick or decaying offspring).

Many other species generally try to avoid eating their own kin-but feed nonetheless on members of their own species. In some cases, it’s simply for food; male polar bears, for example, have been witnessed hunting and eating unrelated cubs when resources are scarce, and komodo dragons will feed on smaller conspecifics. Large crocodiles feed on smaller crocs to keep down the population size and preserve their food supply. This same behavior–large individuals eating small ones–occurs among many other animal species. Meanwhile, the males of other species, such as lions, grizzly bears, many rodents, and chimpanzees, will kill–and sometimes consume–infants to force their mothers into estrus, so they can sire the next litter.

Far more common is a practice known as sexual cannibalism, in which a female eats her mate during or immediately after having sex. The behavior has been observed among female green anacondas, who will mate with a number of males in a “breeding ball,” then eat one of her suitors, perhaps beefing up to survive a long pregnancy. Sexual cannibalism is rife among insects and arachnids, like black widows, praying mantises, and scorpions. In the redback spider, a relative of the black widow, males are actually willing participants in the feast; they flip onto the female’s mouthparts during copulation, encouraging her to dine. Because the spiders transfer their sperm to her in the process, their reproductive success is actually higher after this act of self-sacrifice.The small, slender bodies of red foxes are designed for speed and agility. In proportion to other canid species, red foxes have longer legs and smaller stomachs — adaptations that allow the animal to run nearly 30 miles per hour. A smaller stomach means they need to eat more often, and red foxes opportunistically eat a wide variety of foods as they traverses their home range at night, such as insects, fruits, earthworms, and scraps left by humans. Although they also hunt during the day, red foxes have very acute senses to help them succeed as nocturnal predators. Their eyes are designed to work well in low light conditions, and they maneuver their erect triangular ears to locate the faint rustling noises of rodents. When a mouse is detected, red foxes stand alert and motionless, using their ears and eyes to pinpoint the location of the rodent. Then they launch themselves into the air at a 45-degree angle, and land on the mouse, pinning it to the ground.

Red foxes are territorial, and mark their home range using feces and urine. A dominance hierarchy determines who breeds, and the dominant female gives birth each year to a litter of 3 to 12 pups. Mothers keep their offspring in dens, and non-breeding adults help care for the young. There are several different red fox color variants, which can often be seen within a litter. These include the silver, black, and cross variants. All red foxes have thick fur, a wide, bushy tail, and a narrow, pointed muzzle.

Red foxes have the largest distribution of any canid species. They can be found in almost the entire northern hemisphere, in part because they have such a diverse diet. As a species, red foxes have adapted well to human expansion. They thrive in urban areas, and have benefited from the human conversion of forest into agricultural lands. Red foxes are often seen as a threat to poultry and young livestock, even though they usually prey only on weak and sick animals. Though many farmers consider them pests, red foxes play a major role in controlling populations of crop-threatening animals like rabbits and rodents.

Did you know: Red fox predators are eagles, coyotes, gray wolves, bears, mountain lions, and humans, who have been hunting red foxes since the 4th century BC.