Animal Lives Animals face many challenges in their lives From the moment they are old enough to look after themselves they have to work hard to survive They must search for food They need to escape from hungry predators They have to find or make safe homes so they can shelter from the weather and hide from danger When they become adults animals must attract mates so they can have young Some animals travel to faraway breeding grounds to have their young After they hatch or are born many young need to be protected and cared for until they too are old enough to survive on their own One challenge that horses face is that young horses called foals need to be cared for until they are old enough to care for
Having Young Most animals grow into adults and have young Some animals lay eggs The eggs provide protection and food for the growing young inside them Other animals give birth to live young Some young can care for themselves right after hatching or being born Other young need to be fed and protected for a period of time Different ways to Have Young Animals have young in one of two main ways Some animals produce large numbers of eggs or young They leave the eggs or young and go on with their own lives Other animals produce only a few eggs or young and they take care of them Did You Know In this book you will find out about I fish that carry eggs in their mouths I spiders that carry young on their backs I male fish that get pregnant I birds that trick other birds into raising their young A young Port Jackson shark cares for itself right after
Diagram Life Cycle Virginia Opossum A Virginia opossum is a marsupial It lives for about 18 months to three years Its young are born at a very early stage of development The adults breed from summer to winter The male and female mate and the female becomes pregnant She has between one and three litters each year The young stop drinking milk after about three months and they leave their mother after about five months They are ready to breed when they are between six months and one year
A life cycle is the changes an animal goes through as it grows into an adult SDDT After 11 to 13 days of pregnancy the female gives birth to about 8 young The young crawl into their mother s pouch Each attaches itself to a nipple and drinks its mother's milk 2 The young stay attached to the nipples for about two months When they grow too big to fit inside the pouch they ride on their mother s
