Monday 14 January 2013

alterFACT: Kangaroo babies are only 2 cm long at birth


You probably wish your babies were this cute

A baby kangaroo, or ‘joey’, is born at a very immature stage, after spending just one month in the womb and, that's right, they are only about 2 cm long and weighs less than a gram (easiest birth ever!). Immediately after birth it crawls up the mother’s abdomen and enters the pouch. The baby attaches its mouth to one of four teats (nipples), which then enlarges to hold the young animal in place. Newborns are so insignificantly small that they don’t even have the ability to suck. And we thought human babies were useless? Muscular action from the nipple therefore squirts milk into the baby's mouth. 

Wipe off that disgusted look off your face, this is science

After several weeks, the joey becomes more active and gradually spends more  time outside the pouch, which it leaves completely after 7 or 10 months. Right about this, another joey can be born immediately- talk about efficiency. This causes two types of milks to be produced, one for the active joey, and one for the developing baby inside the pouch. As if this wasn’t fascinating enough, Kangaroos also have a reproductive adaptation that can actually delay implantation. This means that the fertilized egg will cease to develop and just wait until the mother feels ready.

And you thought plastic surgery will change the way you look. 

Check out more pictures here

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