Lisa McClatchy - Safari Babies

They make their home on the grasslands of Africa. They inspire fear in the animals that live nearby. They are one of the four who can roar. But their furry babies look much like the kittens in your neighborhood.

Can you guess who they are?

If you are brave, turn the page to see

SAVANNAH LIFE!

LIONS!

Newborn lion cubs are helpless at birth! Their eyes are closed the first few days, and they dont have any teeth until they are weeks old. Baby lions dont look like their parents. Their thick woolly hair is covered with spots.

Lion cubs weigh two pounds at birth and grow very quickly. When they are a month old, they begin to eat meat.

SAFARI FACTS: Name of young: Cub Gestation: days Number of babies: to Full grown by: years

SAFARI FACTS: Name of young: Foal Gestation: months Number of Babies: Full grown by: years

The first thing a baby zebra learns after birth is its mothers stripe pattern. This is how zebras recognize each other. After the foal is born, it takes its first steps within an hour.

Newborn foals have short bodies, long legs, and a furry coat. They weigh about pounds as much as a seven year old! Foals drink their mothers milk for the first three months and then begin eating grass.

ZEBRAS!

SAFARI FACTS: Name of young: Pups Gestation: weeks Number of babies: to Full grown by: year

When born, a baby meerkats eyes and ears are closed and they have only a tiny bit of fur. Meerkats are usually born in a litter with to other pups.

When they are four weeks old, they emerge from their home, a hole in the ground called a burrow. The pups will stay close to home for the first few months, under the watchful eye of their mother or another meerkat baby sitter.

MEERKATS!

Did you know a warthog is a wild pig? The babies are called piglets and are born without any hair. They stay with their mother in a burrow for the first weeks.

At just two months of age, the piglets are able to follow their mother everywhere she goes.

SAFARI FACTS: Name of young: Piglets Gestation: days Number of babies: to Full grown by: years

WARTHOGS!

Elephants give birth once every five years and each pregnancy lasts whole years! Baby elephants are called calves and weigh pounds when born. Baby elephants walk just a half hour after birth, and within days they can move with the herd.

Calves drink their mothers milk for two years, though they begin eating solid food at two months of age. The entire elephant herd is involved in raising the calves, and grandmothers often baby sit, just like ours!

SAFARI FACTS: Name of young: Calf Gestation: years Number of Babies: Full grown by: years

ELEPHANTS!

Hippos love the water! The mother gives birth in the water to a single calf each year.

The babies, who weigh to pounds, surface right away to take their first breath!

Baby hippos can drink their mothers milk underwater or on dry land. The calves stay close to mom, often riding on her back when she is in the water.

HIPPOPOTAMUS!

SAFARI FACTS: Name of young: Calf Gestation: days Number of Babies: Full grown by: years

SAFARI FACTS: Name of young: chick Nesting time: weeks Number of BABIES: to Full Grown By: years

Three to five mother ostriches share a nest when laying their eggs. The mother sits on her eggs during the day, and then the father takes a turn at night. Each ostrich egg is six inches long and weighs about three pounds!

Once the eggs hatch, it is the father who cares for the chicks. Its not unusual for the father to have as many as fluffy chicks with him!

OSTRICH!

SAFARI FACTS: Name of young: calf or fawn Gestation: months Number of Babies: Full grown by: months

When a baby gazelle is born, its mother cleans it carefully! Once the calf can stand and nurse, the mother picks a hiding place for it to spend the first two weeks.

The mother gazelle returns to this spot often each day to feed her baby. When the calf is one month old, it starts eating grass.

GAZELLES!

SAFARI FACTS: Name of young: cubs Gestation: days Number of Babies: to Full grown by: years

Baby cheetahs spend the first two weeks of life with their eyes closed and are completely dependent on their mother. By the time the cubs are weeks old, they follow their mother everywhere.

Cheetah cubs are born with a long gray blue coat that quickly lightens and develops spots. By months the cub is a tawny yellow and almost completely spotted!

CHEETAHS!