The
Mountain Viscacha inhabits the high mountain steppes of the Altiplano
in the Andes. In this barren landscape, where it rarely rains and
temperatures drop far below freezing at night, the mother still finds
enough weed and seeds to feed itself and her cub. In about a month it
will be old enough to search for food by itself. |
The
name ‚Silvered Lutung‘ doesn‘t seem to apply to the baby of this monkey
family. After birth, it wears a shining orange fur and it is
light-skinned in its face and on its hands. But within a few days the
skin will turn dark. And in 3 to 5 months also the shiny orange fur
will vanish. Then it will look like its parents. |
After
birth, the baby of the 3 finger sloth clings to the belly of its mother
where it will stay for the first few weeks of its young live. It
remains with its mother in the safety of the of the tree tops. The
mother will only get to the ground when in need to defecate. This is
the only time where the baby is endangered. |
Around
noon the seal mum gave birth to her pup. The last phase of the birth
took more than two hours until the umbilical cord between mum and pup
was finally torn. After nosing each other and suckling for the first
time, both are exhausted from the strenuousness of the birth. Now,
closely cuddled together, they take a short afternoon nap to
regenerate. |
In
the first few months of its young live, the foal of the plains zebra
always stays side by side with its mum. After the birth, it has
memorized the scent and the voice of the mare and recognizes it now
even when both wander in large herds with other zebras. The foal knows
that as long as it stays close to its mum, predators and hunger need
not to be feared. |
The
piglets of a group of wild boars got tired of romping around and have
now snuggled up to each other in a big pile. Their fur is not as dense
as that of the adult animals, therefore it protects little from the
cold and the humidity of the forest ground. The position, on which each
piglet may lie, is determined by the ranking, which is carried out in
their first few weeks by small fights and scramble. |
In
the morning, the hyena mum appears in front of her burrow to check for
her puppies, which have spent the night in the safeness of the den. It
will take a few weeks more, before these young savages will be old
enough to leave the den permanently. But now, at the first sound of
their mother, they all get out of the darkness of their hide and
welcome their mum wildly frolicking. |
The
donkeys that inhabit wide areas of the Atacama aren‘t really wild
donkeys. Most of them are descendants from the livestock, formerly kept
for farming and in the mining industry. At the end of the 20th century
their tasks were taken over by machinery and the donkeys were simply
set free. These donkeys did reproduce and today they live in large
numbers nearly all over the Atacama. |
Just
a few hours old, the calf of the moose is still too weak to stand on
its legs for a longer time. This is a dangerous period for the calf, as
it is an easy prey for wolves and bears as long as it can‘t walk
enduringly. Only the constant presence of the mother moose, which
persistently pushes her calf to stand up, offers protection. No wolf
and no bear would carelessly try to get close to the calf, as long as
the mother moose is around. |
At
sunrise the lion cub has laid down in the shade of the bushes. Here, in
the shelter of its pride, it will spend the hot hours of the day. While
the adults of the pack were hunting during the night, the cub was
playing with its siblings and explored the surrounding areas under the
supervision of an aunt. Tired of last night’s activities, it is now
resting to be ready for continuing the discovery of its world with the
next sunset. |
Just
two weeks old, the elephant calf follows its mum on every step. With
its weight of about 100kg and its shoulder height of about 90cm, it is
hardly a mite. Nevertheless, it is permanently in danger during these
first weeks. The elephant cow and the herd protect the calf from
predators like lions and hyenas. But also the sun above the savannah is
a threat to the calf. Beside the risk of dehydration, the sensitive
skin of the small elephant tends to get sunburn. |
While
the adult Humboldt penguins are hunting for food for their offspring,
the chicks stay on the beach and gather in small groups to wait for
their parents return. These kindergartens provide protection against
Skuas and other predators. When the parents return, adults and their
chicks will discover each other by the sound of their voices. However,
sometimes the chicks from other parents try to snatch some food from
any adults, which mostly ends in an ungentle rebuff. |
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