Bray Jacobson - Mammal Life Cycles

Mammal Life Cycles

BRAY JACOBSON

A LOOK AT LIFE CYCLES

Mammal

Life Cycles

BY BRAY JACOBSON

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Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Jacobson, Bray. Title: Mammal life cycles / Bray Jacobson. Description: New York : Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2018. | Series: A look at life cycles | Includes index. Identifiers: ISBN 9781538210482 ( pbk. ) | ISBN 9781538210505 ( library bound) | ISBN 9781538210499 ( pack) Subjects: LCSH: Mammals--Life cycles--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC QL706. J25 2018 | DDC 156--dc23

First Edition

Published in 2018 by Gareth Stevens Publishing East 14th Street, Suite New York, NY 10003

Copyright 2018 Gareth Stevens Publishing

Designer: Samantha DeMartin Editor: Kristen Nelson

Photo credits: Series art Im stocker/Shutterstock. com; cover, p. rickyd/Shutterstock. com; p. ( monkey) l i g h t p o e t/Shutterstock. com; p. ( dog) InBetweentheBlinks/ Shutterstock. com; p. ( elephant) john michael evan potter/Shutterstock. com; p. ( pig) kvasilev/ Shutterstock. com; p. ( horse) Rusia Ruseyn/Shutterstock. com; p. ( bumblebee bat) Merlin D Tutle/Science Source/Getty Images; p. ( blue whale) Hiroya Minakuchi/Minden Pictures/Getty Images; p. ( main) monshtadoid/Shutterstock. com; p. ( inset) The Len/Shutterstock. com; p. JOHN BAVOSI/Science Photo Library; p. Dmitry Pichugin/Shutterstock. com; p. Willyam Bradberry/Shutterstock. com; p. Potapov Alexander/Shutterstock. com p. ( main) Kjuuurs/Shutterstock. com; p. ( inset) Arent Trent/Shutterstock. com; p. SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images; p. Constantin Stanciu/Shutterstock. com; pp. 23, Eric Isselee/ Shutterstock. com; p. worldswildlifewonders/Shutterstock. com; p. D. Parer & E. Parer-Cook/Minden Pictures/Getty Images; p. Milosz Maslanka/Shutterstock. com. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Printed in the United States of America

CPSIA compliance information: Batch #CW18GS: For further information contact Gareth Stevens, New York, New York at 1-800-542-2595.

Contnts

Mammal Makeup

Making More Mammals

Its Alive

Family Time

All Grown Up

Pouch Life

Egg-Laying Mammals?

The Echidna Life Cycle

Glossary

For More Information

Index

Words in the glossary appear in bold type the first time they are used in the text

Mammal Makeup

Many animals you know are mammals! Dogs, horses, elephants, and thousands more are mammals including people! Mammals are warm-blooded animals with backbones. They have hair or fur. Mother mammals make milk to feed their babies, and most give birth to live young.

Make the Grade Young mammals often stay with their mother a long time, learning how to find food or move with their animal group.

monkey

dog

elephant

pig

horse

Mammals can live in many habitats, from the ocean to the rainforest. They can be huge, like the blue whale, or tiny, like the bumblebee bat. No matter where they live or their size, most mammals follow a similar life cycle.

Make the Grade A life cycle is the basic steps an animal goes through as it grows and changes during its life.

bumblebee bat

blue whale

Making More Mammals

In order to reproduce, mammals must find a mate. Male and female mammals have many ways of drawing a mate. A male dolphin may swim with a female, or the pair may pet each other with their fins!

Make the Grade A mate is one of two animals that come together to make babies. Males fertilize the eggs females have inside their body.

Mammal babies grow inside

their mother. Most mammals are placental mammals. The mother grows a special organ called the placenta, which feeds the baby as it grows. How long the baby grows inside its mother depends on the kind of mammal.

Make the Grade A dolphin baby grows inside its mother for between and months!

Its Alive!

Most mammals give birth to live young. Some newborn mammals are more developed than others. Bear cubs dont have hair and cant see. Horses can stand a few hours after being born! All mammal babies drink milk made in their mothers body.

Make the Grade People often only have one baby at a time, but other mammals may have more. Big dogs can have up to about puppies in a litter!

Family Time

Like many mammals, dolphin babies, or calves, stay with their mother even after theyve stopped drinking her milk. Mammal mothers, and often others in their animal group, care for their babies. They try to keep them safe!