T of L: Growing Up

Question 1

For elephant seal:
1. When does the mother leave the pup, and why?
2. How does the pup grow so fast?
3. How long does the pup stay ashore?

Answer 1

1. The mother leaves ~3 weeks postpartum because she can’t eat while nursing.
2. The mother’s milk is super fatty.
3. The pup will stay 6-8 weeks using the fat stores to continue growing.

Question 2

For snow geese:
1. Who cares for the chicks?
2. Why do the chicks follow the parents everywhere?
3. When it’s time to return to the sea, why don’t the parents fly?

Answer 2

1. Both parents
2. They’ve imprinted.
3. Parents only walk or swim to lead their chicks because the chicks are still flightless.

Question 3

For shrew:
1. Who cares for young?
2. Where is the nest?
3. How does the mother get the pups to follow her?

Answer 3

1. Mother only.
2. There is no real nest, only a protective shelter to hide pups while mother hunts.
3. Mother makes ultrasonic sound, and the pups all hold each other’s tails single-file to follow the mother to a new shelter.

Question 4

For eider duck:
1. Who cares for young?
2. What kind of social structure do they have (French)?
3. Who breeds?
4. What happens when young are threatened?

Answer 4

1. Mother and her sisters
2. Creche - animals who take care of young that are not their own (like aunties).
3. The mothers breed, and the sisters typically have not mated yet.
4. Sisters will mob.

Question 5

For the mara:
1. What is their social structure (French), and who are the members?
2. Who nurses the young?
3. How do they recognize young?

Answer 5

1. Creche of mothers and breeding sisters.
2. Mothers only nurse their own young, but sometimes young overwhelm and get their way.
3. Olfactory recognition.

Question 6

For the Fla. scrub jay:
1. Where do they live (include resource description)?
2. Who cares for young?
3. Who disperses first, and when? Second?
4. When do males mate?
5. Who plays what role?

Answer 6

1. pine scrub with nutrient poor soils that yield few resources.
2. Both parents and siblings help care for young.
3. Females disperse after ~3 years; males ~7 years, or they won’t disperse at all and they’ll assist all their lives.
4. Males might never mate, but if they do, it’s because they inherited a territory after the breeding male’s passing.
5. Siblings will partake in sentinel duty against neighbors and predators.